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IM.h;,-ii.<l t.v B.u.i B, KusiioU S: Co. - 55 CornVuU. 



THE 



EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES; '' 



OR, 



THE WAR OF 186.1 



BEING A 



Complete yistorw of its gise anb progress, 

COMMENCINO WITH 

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. 

CQNTAININO AN ACCOUNT OF THE 

MOVEMENT OF TROOPS ; DESCRIPTION OF BATTLES ; LIST OF KILLED AND 
WOUNDED ; BtTRNING OF BRIDGES ; BURIAL OF SOLDIERS ; PATRIOTIC 
SPEECHES; AND OTHER INCIDENTS OF INTEREST CON- 
NECTED WITH THE REBELLION. 

CAREFULLY COMPILEE FROM 

GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS AND OTHER RELIABLE SOURCES. 



B1? 



MRS. J. BLAKESLEE FROST. 



"•i. . 



DEGEN, ESTES ANE^ '^]k^5£^§^^,^^^^ 



BOSTON. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by 

J. BLAKESLEE FROST, 

m the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts. 



3 i I d 



INTRODUCTION. 



In offering to the public this work on the " Rebellion in 
the United States, " it is done with not a little embarrass- 
ment, and many fears and anxieties, known only to those 
who, for the first time in their life, under their own real 
signature, have brought before the public, to any consid- 
erable extent, the effusions of their pen. 

In brmging this little volume before the people, the 
authoress lays no claim to rare talents, or great abilities 
as a " historian," nor expects to win unheard-of laurels ; 
but to give to the world a plam, simple, unvarnished 
account of passing events as they actually occur ; and 
she has endeavored in this work to " separate the wheat 
from the chaff, " or, in other words, to give the truth 
in its purity, and cast aside the fiction. 

In submitting this work to the criticism of the press 
and the people, it is done with a thorough knowledge 
of her own incompetency, and she is fully aware that 
abler pens than hers are being wielded in the work 
of naiTating this stupendous rebellion. 

In preparing this " History," the authoress has endeav- 
ored, for the tune being, as far as possible, to divest 



IV INTRODUCTION. 

herself of prejudice, or at least to disguise her own 
real sentiments, and stand upon " neutral ground," which 
is the only true position of the " historian," and to give 
only facts, without regard to party or political bearing, — 
writing not to win the friendship of any, hut hoping for 
the favor of all. To record the circumstances, and give 
an account of the revolution as it is, the vastness of its 
field of operations renders it a work of great labor to 
produce a history which shall be at once clear and 
mmute, and such a one as shall be worthy to be 
preserved for generations yet to come, as well as a repos- 
itory of the events of the time. 

Professing to stand in the shade of obscurity, and 
sending forth this volume to tell its own story of the 
" Rebellion," the writer leaves it to the sound judgment 
of an enlightened public to approve or condemn. 

In conclusion, the authoress submits this her first 
edition on the " Rebellion " to that " august tribunal," 
the reading public of the nineteenth century, and can 
but express the hope that the eye of the critic will glance 
lightly over it, and the learned and able of the press 
will touch it with a gentle hand, for on them, in a 
great measure, depends the success of this work ; there- 
fore hoping they will give it a careful perusal, and speak 

of it according to its just merits. 

J. B. F. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



FAOS 



Presidential election, and its effects on the people, 12 

Bank suspension, and meeting of Congress, 14 

Opening prayer in the House, 15 

President Buchanan's Message read to both Houses, and transmitted 

South, 1^ 

The Union-saving committee of thirty-thi-ee organized, 19 

Resignation of Howell Cobb, and his letter to the people of Georgia, 20 

Exciting cabinet meeting at "Washington in regard to Fort Moultrie. 

The President's opposition, and resignation of Secretary Cass,. .22, 23 
Exciting letter from the wife of an officer at Moultrie, 24 



CHAPTER II. 

The United States forces in the Southern States, and resignation of Secre- 
tary Cass, 25 

Proclamation for a national fast, 26 

The Crittenden compromise, 27 

Robbery of the Indian Trust Pund bonds, in the Department of the Inte- 
rior, 2S 

Caleb Cushing returns from South Carolina, 30 

1* 



VI CONTENTS 



Evacuation of Fort Moultrie, 32 

Description of Fort Sumter, and officers of the garrison, 34 

Exciting session of the cabinet, and demands of the South Carolina com- 
missioners, 35 

Seizure of the slaver Bonita, 37 

Senator Benjamin's great secession speech in the United States Senate,. .38 

Senator Baker, of Oregon, replies to Senator Benjamin, 40 

Secretary of the Interior resigned, 41 



CHAPTER III. 

An imaginary battle at Harper's Ferry, 42 

The Star of the "West fired into in Charleston harbor, 43 

Resignation of Secretary Thomas, and ■withdrawal of Southern senators, . 44 
Abraham Lincoln, President elect, left Ilamsburg, secretly, for "Wash- 
ington, 45 

Great Union celebration in San Francisco, 45 

Mr. Lincoln's official welcome to the Capitol, 46 

Peace convention adjourned, 47 

Closing of the Thirty-sixth Congress, 48 

Ceremonies and incidents of the Inauguration, 48 

Inaugural address of President Lincoln, 54 



CHAPTER IV. 

Southern side of the question reviewed, with comments, 65 

Great mass-meeting of the citizens at Savannah, 74 

Eesignation of Senator Chesnut, of South Carolina, and exciting street- 
meeting in Columbia, 75 

Resignation of Senator Hammond, and enthusiastic meeting in Charles- 
ton, 76 



CONTENTS'. Til 



Grand gathering of citizens of Chark'ston to inaugtirate the reroln- 

tion, 77 

Arms and equipments of Virginia, 78 

Suspension of Southern banks, 79 



CHAPTER V. 

Response of the Glovemor of Texas to the people's call for an extra ses- 
sion of the legislature, 82 

Letter written by Brigadier-General Semmes to the people of Georgia, . . 83 

Fiery declaration of Governor Wise, 84 

The position of the people of Texas, SG 

Ministers engaged in the cause of treason, 87 

Meeting of the South Carolina convention, 88 

Passage of the secession ordinance 90 

The " jVIinute-men " of Norfolk to South Carolina, greeting, 91 

Grand demonstration in honor of the secession of South Carolina 

throughout the Southern States, 92 

Meeting of the South Carolina convention at Charleston, C3 

Major Anderson's removal from Fort Moultrie to Sumter, 94 

Governor Hicks refuses to convene the legislature of Maryland, 95 



CHAPTER YI 



Eesignation of Floyd, seizure of government propertj-, shipments of 
arms to the South, etc., 98 

South Carolina convention passed an ordinance to define and punish 
treason, 101 

Treasonable conduct of Secretaries Thompson and Toucey, 1C3 



I 



ym CONTENTS. 



J» 



Miijor Anderson's action in reference to the firing into the " Star of the 

AYcst," 105 

Secession ordinance passed by Mississippi, 105 

Secession ordinance passed by Florida and AUibama, 106 

Lieutenant Slemmer's letter to the Florida commissioners, 107 

The people of South Carolina demand the surrender of Fort Sumter,. . .107 
An attempt to assassinate the President elect in Baltimore, 109 



CHAPTER VII. 

The treason of General Twiggs, 115 

Concentrating troops at Charleston, and preparing for the conflict,. . . .120 
Military called oat in Washington, to protect the Capitol; — oath of 

allegiance administered, 121 

Commencement of liostilities — bombardment of Fort Sumter, 123 

The fort surrendered, 126 

Incidents of the fight, 128 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Great excitement in the North in consequence of the news from Charles- 
ton, 131 

The President's proclamation calling for troops, 134 

The Governor of Massachusetts calls out the Third, Fourth, Sixth and 

Eighth Eegiments, — also the Boston Light Artillery, 136 

The four regiments arrive in Boston, 133 

Great excitcmcut at Clapp's Wharf, 139 

Enthusiastic meeting of the Irish residents, 141 

The adoption of a " daughter " by the Sixth Regiment, 146 



CONTENTS. IX 



Arrival of different companies, presentation of the color, and departure 

of the Sixth, 147 

Departure of the Third and Fourth Regiments, 149 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Eighth Regiment leave Boston for Washington, 151 

Presentation of the flag and patriotic speech by Grovemor Andrew, 152 

Arrival of the Sixth and Fourth Regiments in New York, 155 

Harper's Ferry arsenal destroyed by Lieut. Jones, 156 

The Massachusetts Sixth Regiment assailed by a mob in its passage 

through Baltimore, 157 

Correspondence between Governor Andrew and Mayor Brown, of Bal- 
timore, in reference to the Massachusetts dead at Baltimore, 162 

List of the wounded, 164 

The President issued a proclamation declaring a blockade of secession 

ports, 166 

Correspondence between Governor Hicks and Grovemor Sprague, 167 

Departure of the celebrated Seventh Regiment, of New York, for Wash- 
ington, 169 

Great rejoicing at the South over the secession of Virginia, 172 

Railroad bridges burned, 1 73 

Gosport navy yard destroyed, to prevent its falling into the hands 
of the secessionists, 1 73 



I 



A letter giving a description of the destruction of the navy yard, by a ^ 

soldier at Fortress Monroe, 175 

The Fifth Regiment called out — their departure for the seat of wai-, 177 

Departm-e of the Eleventh, Twelfth, and Sixth New York Regiments, 

— also the Rhode Island First, 1 80 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER X. 

The bodies of the Massachusetts dead, killed at Baltimore, returned 

to Boston, 188 

Their reception by the State Authorities, 189 

Governor Andrew's Letter to the Mayor of Lowell, 190 

Departure of the steamer Cambridge, with troops and supplies, for Fort 

Monroe, 191 

Message of Governor Buckingham, of Connecticut, 191 



i| 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XI. 

PA as 
Number of Eegiments organized in the States of Massachusetts, New 

York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island during the thirteen days 
immediately succeeding the surrender of Fort Sumter (exclusive 
of those who passed through Baltimore), their arrival at Annapo- 
lis — their destination, . 193 

The arrival in Washington of the First Rhode Island Regiment — 

incidents of their organization and march, 194 

Organization in Petersburg, Va., of a company of negroes — patriotic 
speech by one of the company, and their departure for Norfolk. 
— Interesting letter from a Southern lady, 196 

Doings at the Norfolk Navy Yard — raising of the ships of war by the 
secessionists, 198 

Interesting letter of a member of the Massachusetts Fifth Regiment, . 200 

President Lincoln's proclamation calling for volunteers. — Privateer 
Savannah captured. — Union meeting in Preston, Va., and Louis- 
ville, Ky. — Interview of President Lincoln with the committee 
of the Maryland legislature, 213 

Funeral at Lawrence of Corporal Needham, 214 

General Butler took possession of the Relay House. — Virginia and 
Arkansas pass an ordinance of secession. — Official correspond- 
ence between Minister Faulkner and the French Minister at Paris, 215 

The Southern Congress pass an act leg.ilizing piracy, 216 

Steamer " Daniel Webster " escapes from New Orleans. — Major 
Anderson accepted the command of Kentucky Volunteers. — De- 
partm-e of the first troops from New Hampshire (Second Reg- 
iment), 218 

Jefferson Davis authorized to raise an army. — Departure of the First 
Connecticut Regiment for the seat of war. — First Vermont Vol- 



XII CONTENTS. 



unteers leave Rutland for Washington. — Camp Jackson, Mo., 

surrendered to Captain Lyon by General Frost, 219 

President Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus on the 
coast of Florida. — Disloyalty of Government oflScials, . . . 221 



CHAPTER XII. 

The Winans' steam-gun captured. — Blockade of Charleston com- 
menced. — Great Union demonstration in San Francisco, . . . 223 

Terrible tragedy in St. Louis, and proclamation by General Harney, 224 

Union troops under General Butler entered Baltimore and en- 
camped. — General Butler issued a proclamation concerning his 
occupation of the city, 225 

Departure of the Second Maine Regiment (the first troops that left the 
State) for the seat of war — aft'ecting incidents on the way — ar- 
rival in Boston — their reception — Sons of Maine — departure 
from Boston, 226 

Governor Hicks called for volunteers, 229 

Bridges on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad destroyed. — Congress 
at Montgomery authorized the issue of Confederate bonds. — 
Military department of Virginia created. — United States steamers 
attacked the rebel battery at Sewell's Point. — Arkansas admitted 
to the Southern Confederacy, 230 

North Carolina passed an ordinance of secession. — Seizure of tele- 
graphic despatches by Government. — General Butler took com- 
mand at Fortress Monroe — General Sanford at Washington, and 
General Patterson at Fort McHenry. — Occupation of Alexandria 
by Union troops. — Death of Colonel Ellsworth — Death of Jack- 
son — Funeral of Ellsworth in New York, 231 

The First Regiment New Hampshire volunteers left Concord for the 
war, 237 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Postal service discontinued in the seceded States. — Savannah and 
Mobile blockaded. — General McDowell took command of the 
army in Virginia. — Governor Banks and Fremont commissioned 
major-generals, 238 



CONTENTS, 



XIII 



General Lyon assumed command in the West. — Gimboat Freeborn 
engaged the rebel batteries at Aquia Creek. — Skirmish at Fairfax 

Court House, 239 

Eebels routed at PhHippi by Colonel Kelly, 240 

The Harriet Lane engaged the Pig Point batteries 241 

General Patterson's advance. — Battle of Big Bethel — Death of Major 

Winthrop and Lieutenant Grebble, 242 

Harper's Ferry burnt and evacuated by the rebels, 248 

The First Regiment for three years* service. — Skirmish at Vienna, • 249 

Battle of Booneville, Missouri, 251 

General McClellan took command of the department of Ohio. — 

Skiimish at Patterson's Creek, 252 

Engagement between gunboat Freeborn and rebel batteries at Mat- 
thias Creek — Captain Ward of the navy killed, 253 

Seizure of the steamer St. Nicholas by secessionists. — The French lady, 256 



CHAPTER XIV. 

General Patterson's advance into Virginia. — Battle near Martinsburg, 259 
President calls for four hundred thousand men. — Fight at Buck- 

hannon, Va. — Battle of Carthage — Sigel defeated, .... 261 

Battle of Laurel Hill, and Rich Mountain, 263 

Engagement at Can-acksford, and death of General Gamett, . . . 268 

Skirmish at Millville, Missouri, 270 

Occupation of Fairfax Court House, Germantown, and Centreville, — 

interesting incidents of the march, 271 

First Battle of Bull Run — Federal troops commanded by General 

Tyler — fall back to Centreville, 279 

Second Battle of Bull Run, or Manassas, 286 

Depredations on the sea — Privateers Sumter and Jeflf. Davis, . . 309 



CHAPTER XV. 



General McClellan in command of the Army of the Potomac. — Pri- 
vateer Petrel sunk by the St. Lawrence. — War tax-bill passed 
Congress. — Battle of Dug Springs, Missouri — General Lyon 
defeated Ben McCuUoch, 312 



XIV CONTENTS, 



Surrender of Fort Fillmore, New Mexico, by Major Lynde, . . . 317 

Village of Hampton burned, 321 

Battle of Wilson's Creek, Mo. — General Lyon and McCuUoch again 
engaged — death of General Lyon. — Official report of General 
Fremont. — Retreat of Sigel to Rolla. — Terrible panic at Spring- 
field, Missouri, 322 

Ex-minister Faulkner arrested for treason. — Return from Richmond 

of Union soldiers, captured at Bull Run, 329 

Skirmish near Grafton, Va. — Mutiny in the Seventy-ninth New York 

Regiment at Washington, 331 

Martial law proclaimed in St. Louis. — Proclamation by Jefferson 
Davis, ordering all northern men to leave the South, .... 333 

Newspapers suppressed, 335 

Another skirmish on the Potomac, 336 

Battle of Charleston, Mo., 337 

Skirmish at Summerville, Va., 839 

Sailing of the great naval expedition under General Butler, . . . 341 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Skirmish at Boone Court House, Va. — Terrible railroad disaster, . 349 
Occupation of Paducah, Ky., and proclamation by General Grant, . 350 

Pardon of the " Sleeping Sentinel," 352 

Battle of Carnifex Ferry, Va., 353 

Fight at Cheat Mountain, 363 

Burning of the Privateer Judith, 364 

Railroad disaster on the Ohio and Mississippi railroad, 368 

Arrest of legislators in Baltimore, 369 

Battle of Lexington, and surrender of Colonel Mulligan, .... 370 

Retreat of General Price, 382 

General Prentiss takes command in the West, and General Fremont 

takes the field, 383 

Skirmishing in various places. — Departure of the Fourth New Hamp- 
shire Regiment for the seat of war. — Occupation of Munson's 

HiU by Union troops, 884 

Advance on Fall's Chuich — California troops fired into, .... 388 



THE 



REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER I. 

Has our love all died out ; have its altars grown coldj 
Has the curse come at last which our fathers foretold 1 
Brother Jonathan's Lament. 

The smouldering fires which for the last thirty years 
have been secretly burning in the hearts of Southern 
politicians have, at last, found vent, and, notwithstand- 
ing all the peace policies and measures of "conciUa- 
tion " extended to them by the North, they have chosen 
to " rebel " against the government of the United States, 
and to trample upon that noblest charter of liberty 
which the world has ever seen, framed by our forefathers, 
and sealed with their blood, — the Constitution of the 
United States ; and the last presidential campaign served 
to give them a single thread on wliich to suspend their 
disunion sentiments, and afford them a plea, though a 
miserable one, for declaring themselves no longer subject 
to the federal government, but free to found for them- 
selves a " confederacy " where their own ambitious sons 
could obtain high official positions, for which they eagerly 
and impatiently thirsted, and which, under the federal 
government, for the next four years at least, was denied 
them. After the reins of government had been, with one 
or two exceptions, m the hands of the South for many 
succeeding years, it was deemed by the North that a 
change would be productive of much good, and result in 

11 



12 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

untold benefits to the whole nation ; consequently, into 
the masses of the North was instilled the " Republican 
sentiment ; " and the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for 
President of the United States was received with general 
dissatisfaction tln-oughout the entire South, claiming that 
his " principles " were adverse to their interests. The 
" rabid " politicians of the North were touching every 
chord that would vibrate through the hearts of the peo- 
ple and secure a Republican administration ; while the 
hot-blooded demagogues of the South were stirring up 
the people and inciting them to " rebellion " and treach- 
ery against the general government in the event of the 
defeat of their candidate for the presidency. 

November 6th, being the presidential election day, the 
following candidates were before the people, viz. : Abra- 
ham Lmcoln, Republican, of Illinois, for President ; Han- 
nibal Hamlin, of Maine, for Vice-President ; Stephen A. 
Douglas, Democrat, of Illinois, for President, and Her- 
schel V. Johnson, of Georgia, Vice-President ; John J. 
Breckenridge, Democrat, of Kentucky, for President, and 
Joseph Lane, of Oregon, Vice-President ; John Bell, 
unionist, of Tennessee, for President, and Edward Ever- 
ett, of Massachusetts, Vice-President. The election re- 
sulted in Mr. Lincoln's triumph. Sevepteen States out 
of thirty-three cast their majority vote for Lincoln elec- 
tors, eleven were for Breckenridge, three for Bell, wliile 
Douglas received the vote of Missouri and three-sevenths 
of the vote of New Jersey. 

When the news was made known of the election of 
Mr. Lincoln to the presidential chair, that the Republican 
star was in the ascendant, it was received at the South 
with loud demonstrations, and threats of disunion, civil 
war, and bloodshed, which savored more of " conspira- 
cies " than of statemanship or honest aims, and which 
was secretly responded to by many traitorous spirits at 
the North. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 13 

First and foremost in the rebellion, South Carolina 
took the lead, and, on the 20th of December, 18G0, declared 
herself out of the Union, and a free and independent 
State, and was immediately followed by Mississippi, Flor- 
ida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and 
Texas, forming themselves into a confederacy with their 
capital at Montgomery, Alabama, and Jefferson Davis as 
their president, who, with Governor Pickens and some 
other turbulent spirits among the revolutionists, seemed 
almost entirely lost to considerations of prudence and 
discretion, and to act upon the supposition that the 
loyal States could be bullied into a conflict or frightened 
into " submission " with their threatened thunder and 
smoke of war. 

But the North remained cool and firm, thinking that 
when error and passion had ceased to declaim, perhaps 
truth might be heard, and an amicable adjustment of 
difficulties might be arrived at ; compromise after com- 
promise was drawn up, and Congress was active in its 
efforts to repair the breach between the States, and 
restore peace and union where now was alienation and 
discord ; but all to no purpose ; in that hotbed of secession 
and treachery the voice of conciliation, in any form what- 
ever, could not even gain a hearing, and the new confede- 
racy, so belligerent in spirit, and apparently eager for the 
fight, would accept of no compromise, while the free States, 
conscious of their strength and resources, were peaceful 
in their inclinations, and reluctant to resort to coercion. 

The news of the election of Lincoln was received at the 
North by many with demonstrations of rejoicing, but their 
joy was soon turned to sadness, for it was immediately 
followed by a general suspension of business ; no trade ; 
credit almost destroyed ; awful panic in the money market, 
that commodity bringing exorbitant rates of interest, and 
could only be procured by such as could give about three 
times its value in collaterals ; great declension in the 



14 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

manufacturing districts ; nearly all mills and manufac- 
tories were either entirely closed or were working on 
short time, and thousands were thus deprived of work or 
any means of subsistence for themselves and families, 
with the wants and necessities of a " Northern winter " 
staring them full in the face, and but little hopes of a 
speedy termination of difficulties. 

November 22d all the banks in the District of Columbia, 
and also those in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Wheeling, and 
Norfolk, Va., together with the Farmers' and Exchange 
Bank in Charleston, S. C, suspended specie payments. 

23d, the banks of Augusta, Ga., Trenton, N, J., and 
Pittsburg, Penn., suspended specie payments. 

26th, all the principal banks of Tennessee, including 
the State Bank, suspended specie payments. 

The twenty-ninth of November was observed, in most 
of the Northern States, as a day of thanksgiving and 
prayer ; sermons were preached by many eminent di\dnes, 
generally urging a policy of peace, concession, and frater- 
nization in the great questions of the day. 

The eyes of the masses of the North were now turned, 
with an imploring look, towards Congress, with the hope 
that that body, when convened, would take some meas- 
ures to avert the impending blow which seemed ready to 
fall upon us, and calm the troubled waters of political 
discord, and restore peace and unity. 

On the twenty-seventh of November a special session of 
the Legislature of Maryland was called for, which Gover- 
nor Hicks refused to convene, and wrote a letter in reply, 
taking strong grounds against secession, and declared his 
purpose was to avoid any precipitation of his State in 
action on the part of secessionists. 

December 3d, Congress met at Washington ; the House 
opened at twelve o'clock, with the following impressive 
and eloquent prayer for the Union, by the Chaplain of 
the House, the Rev. Mr. Stockton : — 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 15 

" O God ! we remember the past, and we are grateful 
for the past. We thank thee for the discovery of this New 
Workl ; we thank thee for the colonization of our part of 
it ; we thank thee for the establishment of our National 
Independence ; we thank thee for the organization of our 
National Union ; we thank thee for all the blessings we 
have enjoyed within this Union, — national blessings, civil 
blessings, social blessings, spiritual blessings, all kinds of 
blessings, unspeakably great and precious blessings, such 
blessings as were never enjoyed by any other people since 
the world began. And now, Lord, our God, we offer 
to thee our humble praise for the past, the present ; and 
for all the future will it please thee, for Christ's sake, to 
grant us thy special aid. Thou art very high and lifted 
up ; thou lookcst down over the whole land, from lake to 
gulf, from sea to sea, from the rising of the sun to the 
going down thereof ; and thou knowest all our doings, 
and thou knowest all our failings ; thou knowest that 
our good men are at fault, and that our wise men are at 
fault, in the North and in the South, in the East and in 
the West, — they are all at fault ; we know not what is best 
for us to do, and with common consent we come to thee, 
Lord, our God ; and we pray thee to overrule all un- 
reasonable and wicked men, in all parts of our confed- 
eracy. We pray thee to inspire, and to strengthen, and 
to assist all true patriots in every part of the Union ; may 
thy blessing rest upon all departments of our govern- 
ment. We remember, with especial solicitude, the Presi- 
dent of these United States, and his immediate advisers. 
They lack wisdom, but if they call upon thee thou 
wilt give them wisdom, for thou givest it to all men 
liberally, and upbraideth not. Whilst we trust that they 
pray for themselves, we here, also, pray for them ; let thy 
Holy Spirit be granted unto them, and grant that they 
may speedily see what is exactly right for them to do, 
and grant them grace to do it, and to fully understand the 



16 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

position in which they are placed. We thank thee for 
this bright and beautiful morning ; for the assembling of 
the two Houses of Congress ; we pray that thy blessing 
may rest on the Vice-President, and upon every senator 
in his place ; upon the Speaker of the House, and upon 
every member iii his place. We rejoice to learn that 
they see their responsibilities, and that they feel their 
resjDonsibilities, and that many of them are looking to- 
wards thee for counsel and direction. Lord, our God, 
let thy own presence subdue every heart, every mind ; 
and sanctify all actions to thy own glory and the great- 
ness of our whole people ; and grant that we may still 
live in peace and harmony in this blessed Union. Amen." 

The roll of members wa,s then called. Most of the 
States were fully represented ; to the surprise of some, 
every member from South Carolina, except one (Mr. 
Bonham), answered to his name on roll-call in the House. 
But no senators were present from South Carolina, Geor- 
gia, or Louisiana, — the South Carolina senators, Chesnut 
and Hammond, having resigned their seats in the Senate, 
the former on the tenth, and the latter on the eleventh, 
of the previous month (November). 

We are compelled, though painfully and reluctantly, 
to yield to the force of concurring evidence, establishing 
the fact that treachery and treason has struck at the very 
root of the Federal Government. 

The solicitude and impatience of the peo^ile, generally, 
to see or hear the presidential message, was intense ; 
hoping, and clinging to that hope with the tenacity of 
life, that it might contain measures of compromise which 
would forever settle the question of disunion, and leave 
the country unscathed by the terrible ravages of civil war. 

The message could not be transmitted to Congress at 
the opening of the session, simply because fair manuscript 
copies for each House could not be made out in time, 
without employing the clerks on Sunday. 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 17 

Early on the morning of the third the President dis- 
patched Mr. Trescott, Assistant Secretary of State, to 
Charleston, with the message, and to urge a postpone- 
ment of action, in regard to secession, until Congress 
could act on compromises and remedies ; who, after an 
absence of seven days, returns and immediately resigns 
his office. At twelve o'clock, on the 4th, the President's 
message was delivered to both Houses of Congress, and 
the department reports sent in. The message takes 
strong grounds for conciliation ; blames the North for its 
aggressions on slavery ; proposes plans of compromise ; 
recommends amendments to the Constitution ; denies the 
right of secession, yet disparages coercion. Its reading 
was listened to with the most profound attention, yet it 
did not satisfy the South, nor please the North ; it was 
attacked fiercely in the Senate by Clingman, of North 
Carolina, and defended by Crittenden, of Kentucky. 
Southern senators declare the message to be weak, vacil- 
lating, inconsistent and untrue ; while the leading Repub- 
lican senators were united and unhesitating in pronounc- 
ing it a weak, silly paper, unworthy such a man at such 
a time. Evidently it was not what was expected ; at the 
time of our country's greatest peril something more deci- 
sive was hoped for. 

It was charged Ijy some that the President secretly 
favored secession, and quietly responded to the calls of 
the South, made upon the government, and if not actually 
assisting in the movement, at least doing nothing to 
hinder it. " He that is not for me is against me." 

Then it was urged by the friends of Mr. Buchanan that, 
as his term of office had nearly expired, he declined to 
act, .choosing rather to leave the settlement of all national 
difficulties to the incoming administration — peacefnl im- 
becility ! How long, think you, my readers, would the 
" hero of New Orleans.," the immortal Jackson, have sat 
with his arms folded and his eyes closed, patiently waiting 

2* 



18 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



for the time to arrive when he should retire, and leave 
his successor to settle difficulties as hest he could ? " In 
the field of argument, or on the field of battle," would he 
not spring to his feet (as on a former occasion), and vrith 
the words — " By the Eternal, I take the responsibility ! " 
— employ all his powers to suppress the rebellion, though 
the people of his own native State were the prime movers 
in it ? 

In the House, Mr. Boteler, of Virginia, ofiered a resolu- 
tion to appoint a special committee, of one from each 
State, to whom should be referred so much of the Presi- 
dent's message as " relates to the present perilous condi- 
tion of the country." The United States Senate, Decem- 
ber 4th, was characterized by the most exciting speeches 
of Southern senators, looking to secession as their only 
relief from Northern domination. In the House, on the 
question of referring the secession matter in the message 
to a special committee, the declaration of Mr. Miles, of 
South Carolina, that his State was already out of the 
confederacy, in everything but form ; of Mr. Hawkins, of 
Florida, that the day of compromises was passed forever ; 
of Mr. Singleton, of Mississippi, that his State could take 
care of herself; of Mr. Pugh, of Alabama, that the Union 
was virtually dissolved ; of Mr. Jones, of Georgia, that his 
State was prepared to go out of the confederacy ; and of 
other southerners to a similar effect, produced but little 
sensation. There was a slight startle upon the announce- 
ment of Mr. Miles, " that his State was out of the Union," 
and the inquiry was made, in the gallery, why he and his 
colleagues were occupying seats in the national capitol. 
The answer to this question was — To get their money 
and stationery. 

December 5th, at the meeting of the State Electoral 
Colleges, Abraham Lincoln, for President, and Hannibal 
Hamlin, for Vice-President, received the votes of seven- 
teen States, or one hundred and eighty electoral votes. 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 19 



On the sixth, the Speaker of the United States House 
of Representatives announced the committee of thirty- 
three, called for under Mr. Boteler's resolution, to con- 
sider " so much of the President's message as relates to 
the present perilous condition of the country." The 
names are as follows : — Ohio, Mr. Corwin, chairman ; 
Virginia, Mr. Millson ; Massachusetts, Mr. Adams ; North 
Carolina, Mr. Winslow ; New York, Mr. Humphreys ; 
South Carolina, Mr. Boyce ; Pennsylvania, Mr. Campbell ; 
Georgia, Mr. Love ; Connecticut, Mr. Ferry ; Maryland, 
Mr. Davis ; Rhode Island, Mr. Robinson ; Delaware, Mr. 
Whiteley ; New Hampshire, Mr. Tappan ; New Jersey, Mr. 
Stratton ; Kentucky, Mr. Bristow ; Vermont, Mr. Morrill ; 
Tennessee, Mr. Nelson ; Indiana, Mr. Dunn ; Louisiana, 
Mr. Tajdor ; Mississippi, Mr. Davis ; Illinois, Mr. Kellogg ; 
Alabama, Mr. Houston ; Maine, Mr. Morse ; Missouri, 
Mr. Phelps ; Arkansas, Mr. Rust ; Michigan, Mr. How- 
ard ; Florida, Mr. Haw^kins ; Texas, Mr. Hamilton ; Wis- 
consin, Mr. Washburne ; Iowa, Mr. Cnrtis ; California, 
Mr. Burch ; Minnesota, Mr. Windom ; Oregon, Mr. Stout. 

When the reading of the names was concluded, Mr. 
Hawkins, the only representative from Florida, asked to 
be excused from serving on the committee, and, declining 
to act, was approached in a solemn and patriotic speech, 
by John Cochrane, of New York ; who, figuratively, with 
the American flag in one hand and a splendid spread 
eagle in the other, appealed to the Florida member to act 
upon the committee. It was a burst of thrilling elo- 
quence, and the applause in the galleries attested the 
sincerity with which the popular heart cherishes the love 
of the Union ; but Hawkins heeded not the appeal, and 
before the House had an opportunity to act upon the 
subject, on motion of Mr. Millson, of Virginia, that body 
adjourned, leaving Mr. Hawkins in suspense, and securing 
to Mr. Millson a volley of curses for his interference. 
Subsequently Mr. Hawkins excused himself for not serv- 



20 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

ing on the committee of tliirty-three, in an elaborate 
speech, defending the Sonth and the right of secession, 
and declaring the appointment of the committee to be a 
constructive fraud, as some persons believed it to be a 
great pacificator, to heal our wounds and produce a polit- 
ical millennium. The effect, if carried out, would be to 
demoralize and degrade the South. He was sorry the 
proposition came from one of the noble sons of the South ; 
denouncing the Union and Union-saving committee in no 
measured terms ; rejecting the very idea of compromise, 
and added that he was not acting under impulse, but 
from convictions of twenty years. 

In addition to Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Boyce, of South Caro- 
lina, and Mr. Morrill, of Vermont, asked to be excused, 
but were promptly refused by the House. Mr. Hawkins 
rose and signified that he wished to say, with all defer- 
ence, " that he would not serve ; " accordmgly the " sons 
of the South " withdrew. 

Very little importance was attached to the committee 
of thirty-three, appointed to save the Union, as the very 
basis upon which it was constructed would defeat the ob- 
ject in view ; it being composed of discordant elements, 
there could be no concerted action. 

On the tenth of December a special cabinet meeting 
was called by the President, at which Howell Cobb, Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, resigned ; after several ineffectual 
attempts to extricate the treasury from its tangled con- 
dition, and failing to account for the disbursement of 
large sums of government money, he proposed to resign 
at once ; and his resignation was accepted. 

We find, bearing the same date, a long and hot-headed 
letter, written by Secretary Cobb to the people of Georgia, 
in which, after referring to the origin and purposes of the 
Repultlican party, he says : — "It is not simply that a 
comparatively obscure abolitionist, who hates the institu- 
tion of the South, has been elected President, and that 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 21 

we are asked to live under the administration of a man 
who commands neither our respect nor confidence, that 
the South contemplates resistance, even to disunion ; 
wounded honor might tolerate the outrage, until, by an- 
other vote of the peo})le, the nuisance could be abated ; 
but the election of Mr. Lincoln involves far higher con- 
siderations. It brings to the South the solemn judgment 
of a majority of the people of every Northern State, with a 
solitary exception, in favor of doctrines and principles viola- 
tive of her constitutional rights, humiliating to her pride, 
destructive of her equality in the Union, and fraught with 
the greatest danger to the peace and safety of her people. 
The question is now presented, whether a longer submis- 
sion to an increasing spirit and power of aggression is 
compatible either with her honor or her safety. In my 
mind there is no room for doubt. The issue must now 
be met, or forever abandoned ; equality and safety in the 
Union are at an end, and it only remains to be seen 
whether our manhood is equal to the task of asserting 
and maintaining independence out of it. The Union 
formed by our fathers was one of equality, justice and 
fraternity ; on the fourth of March it will be supplanted 
by a Union of sectionalism and hatred. Black Repub- 
licanism is the ruling sentiment at the North. They have 
trampled upon the Constitution of Washington and Madi- 
son, and will prove equally faithless to their pledges ; you 
ought not, cannot trust them. We are no longer brethren, 
dwelling together in unity ; they have buried brotherhood 
in the same grave with the Constitution ; " — and con- 
cludes by saying, — 

" Fellow-citizens of Georgia : I have endeavored to 
place before you the facts of tlie case in plain and unim- 
passioned language ; and I should feel that I had done 
injustice to my own convictions, and been unfaithful to 
you, if I did not, in conclusion, warn you against the dan- 
ger of delay, and impress upon you the hopelessness of 



22 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

any remedy for these evils, short of secession. You have 
to deal with a shrewd, heartless and unscrupulous enemy, 
who, in their extremity, may promise anything, but in the 
end will do nothing. On the 4th day of March, 1861, the 
federal government will pass into the hands of the aboli- 
tionists ; it will then cease to ha,ve the claim either upon 
your confidence or your loyalty ; and iii my honest judg- 
ment, each hour that Georgia remains, thereafter, a mem- 
ber of the Union, will be an hour of degradation, to be 
followed by certain, speedy ruin. I entertain no doubt 
either of your right or duty to secede from the Union. 
Arouse, then, all your manhood for the great work before 
you, and be prepared, on that day, to announce and main- 
tain your independence out of the Union ; for yovi will 
never again have equality and justice in it. Identified 
with you in heart, feeling and interest, I return to share 
in whatever destiny the future has in store for our State 
and ourselves." 

Self-sacrificing man ! his " interest^'' possibly, may be in 
Georgia ; an empty treasury offers Mm no inducements to 
remain at the national capital, and feeling so keenly the 
" danger of delay," and the " degradation " of remaining 
in the Union, he should have tendered his resignation at 
an earlier day. 

Mr. Toucey, Secretary of the Navy, was called upon to 
act in his stead, ad interim^ and three days after, Mr. 
Phillip F. Thomas, ex-Governor of Maryland, was nomi- 
nated and confirmed Secretary of the Treasury, vice 
Cobb, resigned. 

On the 13th, the sentiments of the people of Philadel- 
phia were expressed, by an immense Union demonstration, 
by proclamation of the mayor. 

On the same day the cabinet, at Washmgton, was the 
scene of contention and strife ; exciting speeches were 
made in regard to the re-enforcement of Fort Moultrie, in 
Charleston harbor, in command of Major Robert Anderson, 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 23 

(whither lie had been sent, on the 18th of November, to 
relieve Col. Gardiner, who was ordered to Texas). The 
President opposed its re-enforcement, expressing his " de- 
termination " to send no more troops to the forts near 
Charleston, saying he had " assurances " that the fort 
would not be attacked, if no re-enforcements were attempt- 
ed, and that everything should be done, on his part, to 
avoid a collision. Mr. Cass, Secretary of State, and Mr. 
Toucey, Secretary of the Na\y, both strenuously urged 
the policy of strengthening Major Anderson fully. Gen. 
Cass said, — " These forts must be strengthened ; I demand 
it." The President replied, — " I am sorry to differ from 
the Secretary of the State, but the interests of the country 
do not demand a re-enforcement of the forts at Charleston ; 
I cannot do it ; I take the responsibility." The next day 
Secretary Cass resigned. 

The commander who deliberately leaves an insufficient 
garrison in a fort, without re-enforcing, or attemptmg to 
re-enforce, that garrison, by such acts of omission and 
commission palpably " challenges " the enemy ; and yet 
our trembling President, afraid of his own shadow, where 
the vapormg South is concerned, but reckless of decency 
where the North is interested, is afraid to strengthen his 
own forts iorfear the South should take offence I What 
a military commander Mr. Buchanan would make. How 
must the bones of George Washington, Andrew Jackson, 
and Zachary Taylor writhe in their graves ! not dare to 
strengthen our own forts, for fear the enemy should be 
offended ! How shall we be regarded, or respected, by 
the military nations of Europe hereafter ? Such coivardice 
is a blot upon every American citizen. A clergyman, 
visiting a school connected with the alms-house, in a 
small village in Massachusetts, made some remarks to 
the children, in which he endeavored to illustrate the 
smful condition of men, in a familiar way. " You know," 
said the clergyman, " that the negroes at the South are 



24 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

serving tlicir masters. Now, we, sinful creatures, are 
serving a master who is worse than a slave-driver ; and 
can any boy tell me who this master is ? " " Yes, sir," 
said one of the lads, with a great deal of emphasis, " it is 
James Buchanan." 

The following letter, from the wife of an officer at Fort 
Moultrie, tells its own story : — 

"Fort Moultrie, December II, 1860. 

"Dear : I feel too indignant; I can hardly stand 

the way in which this little garrison is treated by the 
heads of government. Troops and proper accommoda- 
tion are positively refused ; and yet, the commander has 
orders to hold and defend the fort. Was ever such sacri- 
fice (an intentional one) known ? The Secretary has 
sent several officers, at different times, to mspect here, as 
if that helped ; it is a mere sham, to make believe he will 
do something. In the mean time a crisis is very near ; 
I am to go to Charleston the first of the week. Within a 
few days, we hear — and from so many sources that we 
cannot doubt it — that the Charlestonians are erecting 
two batteries, one just opposite us, at a little village. 
Mount Pleasant, and another on the end of this island ; 
and they dare the commander to interfere, while they are 
getting ready to fight sixty men ! In this weak little fort, 
I suppose. President Buchanan and Secretary Floyd intend 
the Southern Confederacy to be cemented with the blood 
of this brave little garrison. These names should be 
handed down to the end of time. 

" When the last man is shot down, I presume they will 
think of sending troops. The soldiers here deserve great 
credit ; though they know what an unequal number is 
coming to massacre them, yet they are in good spirits, and 
will fight desperately. Our commander says he never 
saw such a brave little band. I feel desperate myself. 
Our only hope is in God. My love to all. 

" Your affectionate sister." 



CHAPTER II. 

Inaction now is crime. The old earth reels, 
lucliriate with guilt ; and Vice, grown bold. 
Laughs Innocence to scorn. The thirst for gold 
Hath made men demons. Burleigh. 

The entire force of the United States troops, stationed 
in the Southern States, at this time, was as follows : — 

At Fort Monroe, Virginia, eight companies of artillery ; 
at Fayetteville Arsenal, North Carolina, one company of 
artillery ; Key "West, Florida, one company of artillery ; 
at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, two companies of artil- 
lery ; at Augusta, Georgia, one company of artillery ; 
Barrancas Barracks, near Pcnsacola, Florida, one com- 
pany of artillery ; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, one company 
of artillery ; total, about eight hundred men ; and about 
one hundred and twenty United States marines at Nor- 
folk and Pensacola. 

December 14th, Lewis Cass, Secretary of State, resigned 
his seat in the cabinet. The reasons . and motives which 
prompted his resignation are probably not perfectly 
understood ; though it is supposed it was owing to his 
disapproval of the President's inaction in regard to re- 
enforcing Southern forts, arsenals, navy yards, etc. His 
resignation caused much feeling and comment. Espe- 
cially was the President grave, almost to sadness. The 
withdrawal of his long-tried and cherished friend from 
his bosom councils added poignancy to his sorrow, which 
was difficult to overcome. President Buchanan issued a 
proclamation, calling upon the people of the Union, in 
view of the distracted and dangerous condition of the 

3 25 



26 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

country, to observe the 4tli of January, 1861, as a clay of 
fasting, humiliation and prayer. 

A gale came up from the sou'-sou'-west, 

'Twas fierce November weather; 
But the ship had felt such a storm before, 

And her planks still held together. 
And thus, though the howling tempest showed 

No signs of diminution, 
The passengers said, " We'll trast our ship, 

The staunch old Constitution ! " 

The captain stood on the quarter-deck — 

" The seas," he said, " they batter us ; 
'Twas my watch below in the former gale — 

I doubt if we'll weather Hattcras. 
The wind on the one side blows me off, 

The cuiTent sets me shoreward ; 
I'll just lay-to between them both 

And seem to be going forward." 

" Breakers ahead ! " cried the watch on the bow ; 

" Hard up ! " was the first mate's order ; 
" She feels the gi'ouud-swell," the passengers cried, 

" And the seas already board her ! " 
The foresail split in the angry gust ; 

In the hold the ballast shifted ; 
And an old tar said, " If Jackson steered 

We shouldn't thus have drifted ! " 

But the captain cried, "Let go your helm!" 

And then he called to the bo'swain, 
"Pipe all hands to the quarter-deck. 

And we'll save her by devotion ! " 
The first mate hurled his trumpet down; 

The old tars cursed .together, 
To see the good ship helpless roll 

At the sport of wave and weather. 

The tattered sails are all aback. 

Yards crack, and masts are started; 
And the captain weeps and says his prayers, 

Till the hull be mid-ships parted; 
But God is on the steersman's side — 

The crew are in revolution ; 

The wave that washes the captain off 

Will save the Constitution! 

Bataed Taylor. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 27 

On the loth, Attorney-General Black was appointed 
Secretary of State, in place of Lewis Cass, resigned. 

On the 18th of Deceml^er, Senator Crittenden, of Ken- 
tucky, introduced into the United States Senate resolu- 
tions of compromise, as a settlement of differences be- 
tween the Slave and Free States. The bill, as introduced, 
proposed to renew the Missouri compromise line, pro- 
hibiting slavery in the territory north of 36 degrees 30 
minutes, and protecting it south of that latitude ; and 
for the admission of new States, with or without slavery, 
as their constitutions should provide ; to prohibit the abo- 
lition of slavery, by Congress, in the States ; to prohil)it its 
abolition in the District of Columbia, so long as it exists 
either in Yirghiia or Maryland ; to permit the transporta- 
tion of slaves, in any of the States, ])y land or water ; to 
provide for the payment of fugitive slaves, when rescued ; 
to repeal one obnoxious feature of the fugitive slave law 
— the inequality of the fee to the commissioner ; and, 
also, to ask the repeal of all the personal liberty bills in 
the Northern States. 

These concessions were submitted, in the form of amend- 
ments to the Constitution, to a select Senate committee 
of thirteen. Much time was consumed in considering 
various propositions to arrest the progress of dissolution, 
and give peace to the country. Messrs. Crittenden, 
Douglas and Biglcr maintained it with great zeal and 
ability. Mr. Douglas declared, if that mode of compro- 
mise would not answer he was willing to go for any 
other, consistent with honor or justice ; that he was ready 
to consider any question for the preservation of the 
country. 

The appeals of Mr. Crittenden, in behalf of the Union, 
are said to have been eloquent and sublime. He, too, 
was willing to embrace any other effective mode of ad- 
justment. Mr. Bigler, of Pennsylvania, advocated a final 
settlement of difficulties, by a division Ime across the 



28 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

country, so that the question of slavery coukl be taken 
ovit of Congress, and entirely separated from the popular 
elections at the North, without which we could never have 
permanent peace. Messrs. Davis, Toombs and Hunter dis- 
cussed the present unhappy condition of the country, and 
manifested a willingness to accept any measure of final 
settlement which would secure their just rights in the 
Union. Though, at the same time, an under-current of 
secession feeling was sweeping them steadily on, and blind- 
ing them to every concession, or plan of compromise, 
which could be made by the North, as they had previous- 
ly said that the South would have " no compromise,''^ 
that the Union was " virtuaUij dissolved,''^ that the day 
for the adjustment of difficulties was ^^jjassed forever;'''' 
so, therefore, their action on the committee of thirteen 
was mere form, without expecting any beneficial results. 
So, accordingly, when the final vote was taken on the 
Crittenden proposition, it was defeated. 

On the 18th and 19th, Andrew Johnson, United States 
Senator from Tennessee, spoke on the resolutions, propos- 
ing amendments to the Constitution. He denied the 
right of secession, and called upon the President to en- 
force the laws, regardless of consequences. Taking up 
arms to resist the federal laws, he pronounced treason. 
. December 19th, Govei'nor Hicks, of Maryland, declined 
to receive the commissioner from Mississippi. He vindi- 
cated the course by expressing strong Union sentiments ; 
notwithstanding which the commissioner of Mississippi to 
Maryland addressed a large meeting in Baltimore, advis- 
ing cooperation, on the part of the people of Maryland, in 
the secession movement. 

December 23d, the excitement, consequent upon tlie 
state of affairs in the nation, was entirely absorbed by an 
astounding report of a robbery of Indian Trust Fund 
bonds, in the Department of the Interior, committed dur- 
ing Secretary Thompson's visit to North Carolina, as 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 29 

commissioner on the part of his own State, Mississippi. 
The amount abstracted is confessed, by Godard Bailey, 
the guilty disbursing clerk, to have been eight hundred 
and thirty thousand dollars ; but, on investigation, it is 
believed, " the half has not been told." 

Bailey, to whom the bonds were specially intrusted, is 
a native of South Carolina, but at the time of his appoint- 
ment, as disbursing clerk, was a citizen of Alabama. 

The funds stolen are known as the Indian Trust Fund, 
which has accumulated, for the benefit of various Indian 
tribes, under our treaties with them. According to the 
provision of many of these treaties, a certain sum is stip- 
ulated to be paid to the Indians for their land, the sum 
to be paid in annual payments, equalling, in amount, the 
interest that would be due upon the principal. In order 
to avoid the necessity of being compelled to pay these 
annual sums out of the current receipts of the revenue, 
the government has been in the hal)it of investing the 
principal in State stocks, and making the interest on 
these stocks meet the annual payment due the Indians. 

It was these bonds or stocks, thus acquired, that have 
been so unlawfully abstracted from the Interior depart- 
ment. The most intense excitement prevailed concerning 
the robbery. Mr. Floyd, Secretary of War, and several 
other high officials under government, were charged with 
" complicity " in the affair, and said to be " deephj impli- 
cated'' in the revelations made. Secretary Thompson 
appealed to the House for the appointment of a commit- 
tee, with full power to send for persons and papers, and 
asked for investigation, by Congress, in order to vindi- 
cate his own honor and expose the guilty, that full justice 
might be done in the premises. 

Whether guilty or not guilty of the " robbery," is he 
not equally guilty with Floyd, of maladministration in 
office ? Was he not a conspirator against the government 
when he accepted the appointment of commissioner, from 

3* 



30 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



one " rcbelUom " State to another ? Was lie attending to 
the duties of the ofhce which he still held under goverii- 
mcnt, and by whom he was paid for his services, wlien 
he left Washington, as the ])earer of treasonable docu- 
ments from Mississippi to North Carolina, urging the 
cooperation of that State m the matter of secession, 
and declared that it afforded him '■'■ g-reat pleasure" to 
accept this a])pointment and obey these instructions ? 
How came the fraud (which had been going on for many 
months) to be discovered just at the time of his absence ? 
And, yet, this is the man who calls upon Congress to 
" vindicate his honor ! " 

Caleb Cushing, special messenger of the President to 
South Carolina, to induce the postponement of the adop- 
tion of the ordinance of secession, returns and reports the 
j)assagc of the ordinance, and reports no hopes of any 
arrangement of the pending differences. He represented 
the condition of affairs, there, to be fearful and alarming. 
A cabhiet meeting was then called. A deepening gloom, 
darker than the pall of night, and as solemn as the sar- 
cophagus of Washington, appears to have settled over the 
national capital. The most hopeful were desponding, 
seeing no prospect of a settlement of difficulties. There 
seemed to be no man, or set of men, equal to the occasion, 
though there were some who had the ability, the sagacity, 
the statesmanship, to grapple with questions at issue, yet 
were powerless to arrest the fearful ruin that impended. 
Mr. Crittenden, in conversation with a friend, said that it 
was the darkest day of his life ; that he was overwhelmed 
with solicitude for his country, and that nothing but the 
affection of the people for the Union could restore peace. 
Terror and gloom was on every countenance. The Crit- 
tenden compromise was defeated by the Senate committee 
of thirteen, and the House committee of thirty-throe could 
accomplish nothing. All confidence in the administration 
was lost. A President who was secretly aiding the South, 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 31 

wlio violated the Constitution, and refused to administer 
the laws ; who was false to the obligations ui:)ou him to 
preserve our nationality ; — a cabinet composed almost 
entirely of Southern men, with secession principles, — 
nothing could be hoped for from that quarter. 

The Union, " the old sliip of state,'' which had been 
steered safely through fogs and darkness, and various 
dangers, for upwards of three-score years and ten, — 
which had hitherto weathered every storm, — was now 
being driven swiftly before wind and tide to the rocks 
and shoals of civil war ; and it was of no avail that the 
foaming breakers ahead were pointed out to the officers 
and crew, to whom had been entrusted the manage- 
ment of the noble vessel, with her precious freight of his- 
toric glory, present prosperity and power, and all the 
glowing hopes of future j'ears. Every man seemed drunk 
or mad, and shipwreck appeared inevitable. Reason and 
moderation were banished from both sections. The ex- 
tremists, both North and South, were equally violent ; 
and the United States was precipitated, by reckless politi- 
cians, into the most revolutionary condition ever witnessed 
in any country in the world. 

December 24. Intense excitement m Pittsburg, Penn- 
sylvania, in consequence of orders being given to ship, 
from the Alleghany arsenal, seventy-eight ten and eight- 
inch columbiads to Fort Newport, near Galveston, and 
forty-eight to Ship Island, near Balize, at the mouth of 
the Mississippi, — both unfinished forts. The people 
regarded the order as designed to strip the arsenal, in 
order to place the heavy guns in the hands of the enemies 
of the government. An immense meeting was held in 
the street, relative to the removal of ordnance South. 
Several resolutions were adopted, almost unanimously, 
declaring loyalty to the Union, deploring the existing 
state of thmgs, and that it is the special duty of Pennsyl- 
vania to look to the fidelity of her sons ; and in that view, 



32 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



call on the President, as a citizen of that commonwealth, 
to see that the public receive no detriment at Jiis hands. 
Yet, notwithstanding the indignation of the people, and 
their avowed determination to oppose, by force, their 
removal, on the twenty-eighth the order was carried out. 
The work of removal commenced ; the heavy gnus of the 
arsenal were placed on board of boats, procured for that 
purpose, and forwarded to their destinatioji, at the South. 

On the 24th, the members of Congress from South Car- 
olina notified the Speaker of the House of Representa- 
tives, that the secession of their State dissolved their 
connection with that body. The Speaker directed the 
names of the South Cai'olina memljers to be retained on 
the roll, and to be regularly called ; thus not recognizing 
the conduct of their State, as severing their connection 
with the House, or government. 

December 26. Ex-Speaker, James L. Orr, R. W. Barn- 
well, and ex-Governor J. H. Adams, commissioners from 
South Carolina, appointed to negotiate with the federal 
government, in relation to matters pertaining to the ordi- 
nance of secession adopted by a convention of that State, 
arrived in Washington, and were received by Mr. Tres- 
cott, Assistant Secretary of State (resigned), and who 
subsequently acts as their secretary. 

Col. Myers and Captain Donovan, of South Carolina, 
and Major Wayne, of Georgia, resigned their offices in 
the army. On the evening of the same day, December 
26, Major Anderson commenced the evacuation of Fort 
Moultrie, transferring his entire force (about eighty men), 
with stores, munitions, movable arms, etc., to Fort 
Sumter, after having spiked the guns and set fire to the 
gun-carriages. The facts show that Major Robert Ander- 
son, who commanded Fort Moultrie, knowing the- position 
to be untenable, evacuated it and took possession of Fort 
Sumter, an almost impregnable fort, where, in the event 
of an attack upon United States property, he would be 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 33 

enabled to defend it against great odds. Anderson with- 
drew for strategic purposes ; for it was generally known, 
and the expressed opinion of military men, that Fort 
Moultrie could not be held, against a resolute attack, for 
twenty-four hours ; but that Sumter was the strongest 
fort, of its size, in the world. Thus it will be seen that 
the evacuation of a weak and comparatively worthless 
position, for a stronger one, was a wise military move- 
ment. 

They stood within those fortress walls, 

A small but gallant band ; 
O'er them still waved the stars and stripes. 

Bright emblem of their land. 

Scarce there one man to every star 

This hero baud could boast, 
Yet they must guard the banner there 

Against a countless host. 

The chieftain called his men around. 

And pointing to those stars, 
" Dare you defend them with your lives ■? " 

They answered with huzzas. 

His pitying eye o'erlooked his men, 
\ Then at the flag on high; 

A tear stole down his cheek for those 
That were too brave to die. 

" Haul down your colors from the staff, 

You shall not perish here; 
It were in vain to ask of you 

A sacrifice so dear. 

On yonder fortress it shall wave, 

And all the world defy; 
Then, if your country dares demand. 

There we can nobly die." 

The morning sun salutes that flag. 

Defended by that band ; 
Humanity's great heart sends forth 

Its plaudits o'er the land. 

Our Union banner still shall wave, 

Each star in bold relief. 
If we but dare defend our flag 

Like Sumter's gallant chief. 



\ 



34 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The artificial island on which Foi-t Sumter is built is 
constructed of the refuse from the granite quarries of 
New England. Ten years was consumed in its comple- 
tion, at a cost of half a million of dollars. The fortifica- 
tion is of a pentagonal form, built of solid brick masonry. 
The walls • are fifty feet in height, and from eight to ten 
feet in thickness, and are pierced for three tiers of g^us, 
besides having necessary loop-holes for musketry, and 
designed for an armament of one hundred and forty 
pieces of ordnance, of all calil)res. The full armament of 
the fort, however, had not arrived there when Major 
Anderson took possession, but it was thought that, with 
the armament then in the fort, the guns would be capable 
of throwing six thousand pounds of shot at each discharge. 

The other officers of the garrison, under Major Ander- 
son, were Captain Abner Doubleday, Captain Seymour, 
Lieutenant T. Talbot, Lieutenant J. C. Davis, Lieutenant 
N. J. Hall, all of the first regiment, artillery ; Captain J. 
G. Foster, and Lieutenant G. W. Snyder, of the engineer 
corps ; Assistant Surgeon S. W. Crawford, of the medical 
staff. The force under these gentlemen consisted of two 
companies of artillery ; the companies, however, were not 
full, the two comprising only about seventy men, includ- 
ing the band. 

On the morning of the 27th it was ascertained at 
Charleston that Fort Moultrie was evacuated. This 
news was displayed on the bulletins, and intense excite- 
ment spread throughout the city ; the indignation of the 
people knew no bounds. Several of the military compa- 
nies were ordered out, and the convention went into 
secret session. 

The intelligence that JMajor Anderson had abandoned 
and destroyed the chief material works of Fort Moultrie 
was received at "Washington before noon on the 27th ; 
but up to ten o'clock, p. m., no official information had 
been received from Charleston, either by the President or 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 35 



Secretary of War. At first, the report was discredited, 
and public opinion was not at all settled upon the point, 
until, late in ihe afternoon, the following dispatch was 
sent to the President, by the South Carolina commission- 
ers, they havhig- just received it : — 

" Great excitement, on account of remov^al of garrison 
from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter. Removed on Wednes- 
day evening, and at night. Captain Foster, with small 
guard, left in Fort Moultrie to complete dismantling. 
They are now burning gun-carriages ; guns spiked, and 
report of intention to blow up Fort Moultrie." 

The President immediately convened his cabinet, in 
extraordinary session. The confirmation of the impor- 
tant intelligence spread with great rapidity, and created 
most intense excitement throughout the entire country. 
It was the topic everywhere, and various were the con- 
jectures as to the cause which led to the event. Many 
approved, and but few condemned. The conduct of 
Major Anderson was universally commended by Northern 
men of all parties, and by Union men everywhere. 

December 28. The cabinet adjourned, after a pro- 
tracted and exciting session of six hours. The affair at 
Charleston was the subject under consideration. Secre- 
tary Floyd stated to the President, in writing, that unless 
Major Anderson was withdrawn from Fort Sumter, he 
could not remain in the cabinet. 

The South Carolina commissioners " demanded^'' as an 
ultimatum, that the federal troops be withdrawn imme- 
diately from all the Charleston forts, — as their presence, 
pending negotiations, was a menace, — or this would be 
their last interview, and they would return to South Car- 
olina, and prepare for the worst. 

How far they might have succeeded in bullying the 
President into compliance with their wishes, it is not 
possible now to say, but for the interference of such men 
as Holt and Stanton. 



36 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



Thompson, Floyd and Thomas contended that a qnasi- 
treaty had been made, by the officers of the government, 
with the leaders of the rebellion, to offer no resistance to 
their violations of law and seizures of government prop- 
erty. Floyd, especially, blazed with indignation at what 
he termed the " violation of honor." At last, Mr. Thomp- 
son, Secretary of the Interior, formally moved that an 
imperative order be issued to Major Anderson, to retire 
from Sumter to Fort Moultrie ; abondoning Sumter to 
the enemy, and proceeding to a post, where, from the 
weakness of the position, he must at once surrender. Mr. 
Stanton, the then newly-appointed Attorney General 
(now Secretary of War), could sit still no longer; and 
rising, he said, with all the earnestness that could be ex- 
pressed in his bold and resolute features, — " Mr. Presi- 
dent, it is my duty, as your legal adviser, to say that you 
have no right to give up the property of the government, 
or abandon the soldiers of the United States to its ene- 
mies ; and the course proposed by the Secretary of the 
Interior, if followed, is treason, and will involve you, and 
all concerned, in treason." 

Such language had never before been heard in Buchan- 
an's cabinet, and the men who had so long ruled and 
bullied the President were surprised and enraged to be 
thus rebuked. Floyd and Thompson sprang to their feet 
with fierce, menacing gestures, seeming about to assault 
Stanton. Mr. Holt took a step forward to the side of the 
Attorney General. The imbecile President implored 
them, piteously, to take their seats. 

The President determined, after a full deliberation, not 
to withdraw Major Anderson, and Mr. Floyd's resignation 
was, therefore, accepted. While the cabinet was still in 
session, news came that Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinck- 
ney had been taken possession of by South Carolina 
militia ; also. Secretary Thomas received a dispatch from 
Charleston stating that the revenue-cutter Aiken, in the 



\ 



THE REBELLION IN "THE UNITED STATES. 37 

port of Charleston, had been seized by the authorities, and 
that the captain, M. L. Coste, who is a native of Charles- 
ton, had resigned. This intelligence was immediately 
communicated to the cabinet. 

Though the President would not accede to the demands 
of the commissioners, he signified that Major Anderson, 
in his movement, acted upon his own responsibility, and 
without any instructions to that effect ; and were he so 
disposed, subsequent events precluded the possibility of 
restoring the troops to the status quo, Fort Moultrie 
being occupied by the Carolinians. 

After a few more bitter words the cabinet adjourned. 
The commissioners called upon the President and pre- 
sented, in writing, their credentials from the State of 
South Carolina, empowering them to treat with the gen- 
eral government in regard to the forts, arsenals and other 
property ; but the President would give no recognition to 
their authority to address him, except as citizens of the 
United States, and not as commissioners from a foreign 
power. 

At two o'clock, on the afternoon of the 28th, the navy 
department received a dispatch from Lieutenant James 
P. Foster, commanding the slaver Bonita, which was car- 
ried into Charleston as a prize, that his prisoner, the 
captain of the Bonita, was taken on a writ of habeas cor- 
pus before a State judge, who remanded him on the 
ground of want of jurisdiction ; and that while conveying 
his prisoner from the court to the ship, he was forcibly 
taken from his custody by a mob. 

Mr. Holt, Postmaster General, sent orders to the sub- 
treasurer, at Charleston, to remit all the balance — thirty- 
five thousand dollars, on the post-office account — in his 
possession, immediately, to the credit of that department. 

An immense Union meeting was held at Memphis, 
Tennessee. 

On the 31st, Senator Benjamin, of Louisiana, made a 



38 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

secession speech in the United States Senate. He argued 
at great length, and with eloquence, to prove that a State 
has an inherent right to secede, and cannot be coerced. 
He quoted "Webster and Madison, to sustain his position ; 
said all pretexts about collecting the revenue, or enforcing 
the laws in the seceding States, were but another name 
for overcoming their objections by war. 

He argued that they could not collect the revenue by 
force ; that such threats were only a pretext to cover up 
the real question, which was this : — Shall we acknowl- 
edge the independence of a seceding State, or reduce her 
to subjection by war ? — said he had repeatedly warned 
the North that they were driving them to a point that 
would result in a separation, and referred to a speech he 
made, in 1856, predicting this result, and in which he 
said the time would come when the South would throw 
the sword into the scale with all the rights of the South, 
because he did not believe there could be peaceable seces- 
sion ; that his words then uttered had proved true. He 
would to God that the fears of civil war, then expressed, 
would prove only fears ; but it seemed almost as if the 
other side of the chamber desired to bring about a civil 
war ; that South Carolina had declared herself separated 
from the Union, and that she was not alone, for Missis- 
sippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and other Southern 
States, would soon follow ; that the North had caused all 
this ruin ; a sectional President had been elected, who 
could, with the aid of a sectional Senate, grant all the 
benefits to and appoint from one section all the officers 
in the gift of the government, and thus ruin the South ; 
and after enumerating the various indignities heaped 
upon them by the North, and commenting upon the evils 
and disadvantages of a connection with the free States, 
he concluded by saying : — 

" Our committee has reported, this morning, that no 
possible scheme of adjustment can be devised. The day 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 39 

of adjustment is passed ; if yon propose to make one now, 
you are too late. And now, senators, within a very few 
weeks we part, to meet again in one common council- 
chamber of the nation no more, forever. We desire, we 
beseech you, to let this parting be in peace. I conjure 
you to indulge in no vain delusions that duty, or con- 
science, or interest, or honor, impose on you the necessity 
of invading our States, and shedding the blood of our 
people. You have no possible justification for it. I trust 
it is from no craven spirit, or any sacrifice of the dignity 
or honor of my own State, that I make this last appeal, 
but from far higher and holier motives. If, however, it 
shall prove vain, if you are resolute to pervert the gov- 
ernment, framed by the fathers for the protection of our 
rights, into an instrument for subjugating and enslaving 
us, then, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the universe 
for the rectitude of our intentions, we must meet the 
issue as best becomes freemen defending all that is dear 
to man. What may be the fate of this horrible contest, 
none can foretell. The fortunes of war may be adverse 
to our arms ; you may carry desolation into our peaceful 
land, and with torch and firebrand may set our cities in 
flames ; you may even emulate the atrocities of those who, 
in the days of the Eevolution, hounded on the blood-thirsty 
savage ; you may give the protection of your advancing 
armies to the furious fanatics who desire nothing more 
than to add the horrors of servile insurrection to civil 
war ; you may do all this, and more, but you never can 
subjugate the free sons of the soil into vassals, paying 
tribute to your power ; you can never degrade them to a 
servile and inferior race, — never, never." 

In the House, Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, offered a 
resolution calling on the President to state to Congress 
the exact condition of the public forts and arsenals in 
South Carolina, and an account of all the arms distrib- 
uted during the year, etc. etc. This was rejected, and a 



40 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

substitute by Mr. Stanton, of Ohio, adopted, directing the 
military committee to inquire and report how, to whom, 
and for what price, arms had been distributed and sold 
during the year ; also the condition of the forts and 
arsenals. 

January 2d. Senator Baker, of Oregon, proceeded to 
address the Senate, on the crisis, referring first to Mr. 
Benjamin's speech as the best he had heard ; but it re- 
minded him of what had been said of a certain book that 
had been written, that it would have been best if it had 
never been written at all. 

He said the government was a substantial power ; its 
Constitution a perpetuity, and its power capable of exer- 
cise against domestic treason or foreign foes ; and referred 
to some authorities quoted by Mr. Benjamin, disproving 
the latter's arguments. He acknowledged that " per- 
sonal liberty bills," if they hindered the operation of the 
fugitive slave law, ought to be repealed. 

January 2d. Governor Morgan, of New York, in his 
message, delivered at the convening of the legislature of 
his State, recommended the repeal of the personal liberty 
bill, and, also, recommended other States to do the same. 

Captain Charles Stone was appointed Inspector General 
of Militia in the district of Columbia, at the recommenda- 
tion of General Scott. 

A hundred guns were fired in the Park, at New York, 
in honor of the action of Major Anderson. Salutes of 
thirty-three guns were fired, in honor of the gallant con- 
duct of Major Anderson, in Boston, Burlington, Vt., 
Philadelphia, Trenton, N. J., Auburn, Schenectady, and 
Utica, N. Y. 

3d. The demands of the South Carolina commission- 
ers were refused by the President. 

4th. The national fast day was generally observed 
throughout the States. 

Governor Sprague, of Rhode Island, in his proclama- 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 41 

tion, seconds Mr. Buchanan's idea that we ought to fast 
and pray, and proposes to " supplicate Almighty God for 
deliverance from corrupt rulers;^'' unploring that " our 
laws may be faithfully and fearlessly executed ; our Con- 
stitution and Union may be preserved, in their original 
strength and purity ; and those who have charge of our 
national affairs be imbued with sufficient patriotism and 
courage to maintain the government inviolate, and to 
uphold the constitutional rights of the people in every 
section of the country. 

January 5th. Steamship Star of the West left New 
York, with two hundred and fifty artillerists and marines. 

8th. Jacob Thompson, Secretary of the Interior, re- 
signed. Thus we receive, in the short space of one 
month, the resignation of four of the highest officials of 
the government, and those to whom our country should 
look in her hours of darkness and peril. General Cass 
retired disgusted and aggrieved at the inactivity of the 
President. 

Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury, maintained 
his position until the treasury became bankrupt; then, 
feeling that the North " violated all her pledges," and 
that every hour he remained only served to " degrade 
Mm,^' he " conscientiously " resigned and loft for the 
South. 

John B. Floyd was content with his position, as Secre- 
tary of War, until the principal guns and munitions of 
war had been transferred South, from Northern arsenals, 
nasy yards, etc., a large amount of government property 
seized, and the South armed and prepared for war ; then 
he " very conscientiously " resigned. 

Jacob Thompson remained Secretary of the Interior 
until the poor " Indian " had been robbed of all his 
funds, then his " sense of honor " compelled him to re- 
sign. -^ 

4* 



CHAPTER, III. 

Such shapes of earth and time have I not watched 

In other years ; but calamity methinks 

Is creeping nigh, her cruel plot being hatched. 

We give here a little circumstance which goes to show 
the excitable state of the public mind at that time, and, 
particularly, in the border States. At Harper's Ferry, 
Jefferson County, Ya., the spot made ever memorable by 
the bloody John Brown raid, the 7th of January was 
characterized by the greatest excitement, and warlike 
preparations were made on a large scale to meet what 
proved to be only an imaginary foe. 

It seems that, from some quarter or other, news had 
come to the Ferry that the government had dispatched a 
force of United States troops to take possession of the 
arsenal at the Ferry, and hold it, — its arms, stores, and 
munitions of war, — in view of the reported march that 
was to be made by insurgents in the border States on the 
capitol at Washington. This report threw the Harper's 
Ferry people, especially the employees at the arsenal, 
of whom there were between three and four hundred, 
into a state of the wildest excitement ; and straightway 
the cry arose, " To arms ! To arms ! " Accordingly, 
when the express train, which left Baltimore at four in 
the evening, and arrived at the Ferry about eight, had 
crossed the Long Bridge and reached the latter place, the 
passengers were astonished to find some three or four hun- 
dred armed men drawn up in battle array, ready to welcome 
the United States soldiers " with bloody hands to hospita- 
ble graves ; " or, in other words, waiting to enact a scene 

42 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 43 

before which all the high extravaganzas thus far played 
off by South Carolina should pale into utter insignifi- 
cance. Fortunately for the peace and the ever after rep- 
utation of that part of the country, — and fortunately, 
perhaps, for the three hundred men in arms, — there 
were no United States troops aboard. None had been 
sent, — none, that any one on the train knew of, were ex- 
pected to be sent. Some were pleased, and others were 
petulant and irritable that they had no chance to show 
their valor and courage in opposition to the government, 
and their devotion to secessiondom ; and, after discussing 
their deeds of " chivalry " which might have been en- 
acted had the troops arrived, they began to dwindle away, 
one by one, till finally all were gone, and peace and order 
reigned. 

January 9. The " Star of the West," an unarmed 
steamer bearing re-enforcements to Major Anderson, in 
endeavoring to enter the harbor of Charleston, about 
daylight in the morning, was fired into by the garrison on 
Morris Island, and also by Fort Moultrie, then in com- 
mand of Major Ripley. The steamer put about and 
went to sea, Morris Island battery still firing upon them 
until they were out of reach of their guns. Fort Sum- 
ter did not respond. 

As this intelligence spread on the wings of the tele- 
graph throughout the country, the effect produced upon 
the public mind in all quarters was that we were on the 
eve of war. The first gun had been fired, and the end 
of the struggle no man could foresee. During the fore- 
noon of the same day. Major Anderson dispatched Lieu- 
tenant Hall with a flag of truce to Charleston, where he 
delivered a communication from the Major to Governor 
Pickens, wherein he recapitulates the facts concerning 
the Star of the West, and requests to know if the action 
of the State troops is authorized ; and says that if such 
action is not disclaimed by the South Carolina authori- 



44 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

ties, he will prevent the passage of all vessels to the city 
of Charleston. 

Governor Pickens replied that the re-enforcement of 
the fort was regarded as an act of hostility to South Car- 
olina, and that he approved of the attack upon the Star 
of the West. 

After some deliberation. Major Anderson concluded to 
refer the subject to the federal authorities at Washington, 
and Lieutenant Talbot was sent to the capitol with dis- 
patches. 

January 11. Phillip F. Thomas, of Maryland, Secre- 
tary of Treasury, resigned, and Hon. John A. Dix, of 
New York, appointed in his place. 

An abolition meeting at Rochester, N. Y., was broken 
up Jan. 12. The Star of the West arrived at New York, 
from Charleston, and, on the thirteenth, landed her troops 
at Governor's Island. 

Senator Seward, of N. Y., made a great Union speech 
in the United States Senate. 

15th. Major-General Sanford tendered the first divis- 
ion N. Y. State Militia, 7000 men, to the Commander- 
in-Chief, for any service which might be required. 

18th. The Massachusetts State Legislature tendered to 
the President of the United States aid in men and money. 

20th. Wendell Phillips, in a speech at Music Hall, Bos- 
ton, declared himself to be a disunionist, and said he was 
glad to see the movement of South Carolina. 

21st. United States Senators, Jefferson Davis, of 
Mississippi ; Fitzpatrick and Clay, of Alabama ; Yulee and 
Mallory, of Florida ; and the whole Alabama and Geor- 
gia delegation, formally withdrew from Congress. Pos- 
tal service in Florida was discontinued. 

22d. Sherrard Clemens, of Virginia, made a Union 
speech in the U. S. House of Representatives. 

24th. The annual meeting of the Mass. Anti-Slavery 
Society, in Boston, was broken up. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 45 

25tli. The Rhode Island personal liberty bill was 
repealed by the legislature. 

27th. The grand jury for the District of Colnmlna 
made presentments of Ex-Secretary Floyd for maladmin- 
istration in office, complicity in the abstraction of Indian 
bonds, and conspiring against the government. 

31st. The attorney general of South Carolina made 
proposals to government, in behalf of the State, to buy 
Fort Sumter. 

February 4th. The commissioners to the peace con- 
ference, proposed by Virginia, met at Washington. Del- 
egates were present from Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, 
Tennessee, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Missouri, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Connecticut, 
New Hampshire, Vermont, Delaware, Rhode Island, and 
Massachusetts, — Ex-President Tyler chosen president. 

5th. Senators Slidell and Benjamin and the Louis- 
iana delegation withdrew from Congress. 

9th. Tennessee voted by a large majority to remain in 
the Union. 

13th. Virginia State convention met at Richmond. 

22d. Abraham Lincoln, the President elect, l3roke up 
the programme of his route to Washington, and left Har- 
risburg. Pa., secretly, in a special night train, for Washing- 
ton, owing to fears of assassination in Baltimore. 

The Union celebration in San Francisco on the 22d 
was universally observed in a style similar to that of the 
Fourth of July. Business was generally suspended. 
The Union meeting on that day was attended by 20,000 
people. Union speeches were made, and resolutions 
adopted declaring the unalterable attachment of Califor- 
nia to the Union ; that there exists no power under the 
Constitution for a State to secede ; that California will 
cheerfully acquiesce in any honorable plan for the adjust- 
ment of the difficulties so as to secure the rights of all 
the States ; that if one or more States should finally sep- 



46 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

arate from tlie confederacy, California would still cling to 
the Union ; that California repudiates the Pacific republic 
project ; that the true attitude of the peojjle of Califor- 
nia is that of fraternal kindness toward all the States, 
and her honor and interests demand that she should do 
all in her power to bring about harmony and reunion. 
The meeting was enthusiastic. 

^ On Wednesday, February 27, Mr. Lincoln was officially 
welcomed to the capitol by Mayor Berritt and the mem- 
bers of the city council. Mr. Berritt, in addressing the 
President elect, spoke as follows : — 

" Mr. Lincoln : As the President elect under the Con- 
stitution of the United States, you are soon to stand in 
the august presence of a great nation of freemen, and to 
enter upon the discharge of the -duties of the highest public 
trust known to our form of government, and under cir- 
cumstances menacing the peace and permanency of the 
repul)lic, which have no parallel in the history of our 
country. It is our earnest wish that you may be able, as 
we have no doubt you will, to perform these duties in 
such a manner as shall reflect honor to yourself; restore 
peace and harmony to our now distracted country ; and, 
at last, bring the old ship of state into the harbor of 
safety and prosperity, thereby deservedly securing the 
plaudits of a whole world. I avail myself of this occasion 
to say that the citizens of Washington, true to the in- 
stincts of constitutional liberty, will ever be found faith- 
ful to all the obligations of patriotism ; and as their chief 



1 Some have charged 'Mi: Lincoln with cowardice in avoiding Bahimore, 
but it appears to be the fault of Baltimore, not of Mr. Lincoln, for " Mr. 
Buchanan met with the same difficulty when he left Lancaster, four years 
before, on his way to Washington, as President elect ; he was threatened by 
the rowdies of Baltimore with personal violence, in any number of anony- 
mous letters, and it made such an impression on him that, in company with 
a few friends, he took a private carriage, lea^•ing his escort and a dinner 
that had been prepared for him behind. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 47 

magistrate, and in accordance with the honored usage, 
I bid you welcome to the seat of government." 

Mr. Lincohi, in reply, thanked the mayor, and, through 
him, the municipal authorities of the city, for their kind 
welcome ; and declared it to be the first time in his life, 
since the present phase of politics had presented itself in 
this country, that he had spoken publicly within a region 
of country where the institution of slavery existed ; and 
expressed it as his opinion that very much of the ill-feel- 
ing wiiich has existed, and still exists, between the peo- 
ple of the section from whence he came and the people 
of the slave States was owing to a misunderstanding 
between each other which unhappily prevails. At the 
same time assuring the mayor, and all the people present, 
that he had not at that time, nor ever had, any other than 
as kindly feelings towards them as to the people of his 
own section, and that it was not his purpose to withhold 
from them any of the benefits of the Constitution, under any 
circumstances, that he would not feel himself constrained 
to withhold from his own neighbors ; and expressed the 
hope that when they should become better acquainted 
they would like each other the more ; and again thank- 
ing them for their kind reception, soon afterwards with- 
drew. 

February 27th. The peace convention adjourned with- 
out day, after adopting a plan of adjustment embracing 
the restoration of the Missouri compromise, a condi- 
tion respecting the acquisition of new territory which 
made necessary the concurrence of a majority of Northern 
and Southern senators, agreeing that there should be no 
future amendments of the Constitution to allow Congress 
to interfere with slavery in any State or territory, etc., etc. 

February 28tli. Senator Crittenden, of Kentucky, pre- 
sented the recommendations of the peace convention, in 
the Senate, and favored their adoption. 

Mr. Corwin's proposed amendment to the Constitution, 



48 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

as adopted by the committee of thirty-three, passed the 
House of Representatives. 

March 2d. The new tariff bill signed by President Bu- 
chanan. 

March 4th. Mr. Corwin's proposed amendment passed 
the Senate. 

The thirty-sixth Congress adjourned, sine die. 

President Lincoln was inaugurated. 

Aside from telegraphic dispatches, received by General 
Scott and others, cautioning them to be on the lookout 
for gunpowder plots at the capitol, and anonymous letters 
with threats of personal violence to the President on the 
day of his inauguration, with rumors of riotous prepara- 
tions being made on a large scale, nothing occurred to 
disturb the tranquillity of the President elect or his friends. 
These reports, being widely circulated through the jjublic 
press, brought together at Washington large crowds of 
people, both political and civil, who were determined that 
the inauguration should take place, and that the Presi- 
dent should be protected at all hazards ; that the people's 
choice must take his seat at the head of the government of 
this great nation, let the consequences be what they would. 
Five hundred special police were detailed for duty on the 
fourth of March, and soldiers were stationed in the house- 
tops along the line of procession, to act as sharp-shooters in 
case of riotous proceedings. The amplest civil and milita- 
ry preparations were made, by the municipal authorities 
and General Scott, to provide for any emergency which 
might arise. The day of inauguration, that ever-memo- 
rable fourth of March, was ushered in by a most exciting 
session of the Senate, that body sitting for twelve hours, 
from seven o'clock the previous evening to seven in the 
morning ; and as the dial of the clock, that old admon- 
isher of time and things passing away, now told the hour 
of midnight, and Sunday gave way to Monday, the fourth 
of March, the Senate chamber presented a curious and 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 49 

animated appearance. The galleries were crowded to 
repletion ; the ladies' gallery resembling, from the gay- 
dresses of the fair ones there congregated, some gorgeous 
parterre of flowers ; and the gentlemen's gallery seemed 
one dense black mass of surging, hearing masculines, 
pushing, struggling and almost clambering over each 
others' backs in order to get a good look at the proceed- 
ings. 

The morning broke clear and beautiful, and the hearts 
of thousands upon thousands of freemen, far and near, 
beat in rapid succession, and tlu*obbed wildly at the 
thought of what that day might bring forth, and many, 
many, with the gray dawn of the morning, wished that 
day well and peacefully over. On the floor of the Senate 
Messrs. Crittenden, Trumbull, Wigfall, Wade, Douglas, 
and others, kept up a rolling fire of debate, while those 
not engaged in the discussion betook themselves to the 
sofas for a comfortable nap during the session, which, it 
was known, would last all night. As the morning ad- 
vanced, the galleries and floor became gradually cleared 
out, and at eight o'clock only a few remained. The pub- 
lic buildings, schools, and most places of business, were 
closed throughout the day ; the stars and stripes floated 
from the City Hall, Capitol, War Department and other 
public buildings, while not a few of the citizens flung out 
flags from their houses or across the principal avenues. 
From early dawn the drum and fife could be heard in 
every quarter of the city, and the streets were thronged 
with the volunteer soldiery, hastening to their respective 
rendezvous. Three or four hours elapsed before there 
"was the least chance of entering the Capitol. Pennsylva- 
nia Avenue was thronged with people wending their way 
to the famous east front. For four hours the crowd 
poured on, in one continuous stream of old and young, 
male and female ; staid old Quakers, from Pennsylvania, 
going to see Friend Abraham; and lengthy Suckers, 

5 



50 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Hoosiers and Wolverines, desirous of a peep at Mr. Lin- 
coln ; Buckeyes and Yankees, men from California and 
Oregon, from the north-east and the north-west, and a few 
from the border States ; the large majority, however, were 
Northern men, there being, apparently, but few Southern- 
ers. Previous to the arrival of the procession, the Senate 
chamber did not present a very animated appearance. 
The many ladies waiting to see the display did not arrive 
until late ; and the officers, whose gay uniforms and flash- 
ing epaulettes relieved so well the sombreness of the na- 
tional black, were with the Presidential cortege, during 
the passing of the procession to Willard's Hotel and the 
march thence to the "Capitol. 

At five minutes to twelve o'clock, Vice-President 
Breckenridge and Senator Foote, of the committee of 
arrangements, entered the Senate chamber escorting the 
Vice-President elect, Hon. Hannibal Hamlin, whom they 
conducted to a seat immediately to the left of the chair of 
the President of the Senate. As the hands of the clock 
pointed to the hour of twelve the hammer fell, and the 
second session of the thirty-sixth Congress came to an 
end. Mr. Breckenridge announced the Senate adjourned 
without day, and left the chair, to which he immediately 
conducted Vice-President Hamlin. The foreign diplo- 
matic corps also entered the chamber at the same mo- 
ment, occupying seats to the right of the chair. It was 
a suljject of general remark that the foreign corps never 
were so fully represented as on this occasion. The min- 
isters, attaches and others, numbered, in all, above fifty ; 
and their brilliancy of dress, the numljcr of their decora- 
tions, crapes, (fee, added much to the imposing nature of 
the scene. Some of the court uniforms were particularly 
gorgeous, and attracted much attention. The attendance 
of senators was unusually full, the only absences noticed 
being those of Messrs. Mason and Hunter of Virginia. At 
fifteen minutes to one o'clock the judges of the Supreme 



THE REBELIJON IN THE UNITED STATES. 51 

Court of the United States were announced by the door- 
keeper of the Senate. On then- entrance all on the floor 
arose, and the vcncral^le judges, he^ided by Chief Justice 
Taney, moved slowly across to the seats assigned them, 
immediately to the riglit of the Vice-President, each ex- 
changing salutes with that officer in passing the chair. 
At ten minutes after one o'clock an unusual stir oc- 
curred in the chamber, and the rumor spread like wild- 
fire that the President elect was in the building. At 
fifteen minutes past one o'clock the marshal and chief, 
Major B. B. French, entered the chamber, ushering in 
the President and President elect. They had entered 
together from the street through a private covered pas- 
sage-way, on the north side of the Capitol, police officers 
being in attendance to prevent outsiders from crowding 
after them. Tlic line of procession was tlien formed, as 
follows : — Marshal of the District of Columbia, judges 
of the Supreme Court and sergeant-at-arms. Senate com- 
mitee of arrangements. President of the United States 
and President elect, Vice-President, Secretary of the Sen- 
ate, senators, diplomatic corps, heads of the departments, 
governors and others in the chambers. When the word 
was given for members of the House to fall into the line 
of procession a violent rush was made for the door, ac- 
companied by loud outcries, violent pushing and great 
disturbance. After the procession had reached the plat- 
form. Senator Baker, of Oregon, introduced Mr. Lincoln 
to the assembly. On Mr. Lincoln's advancing to the 
stand he was cheered, but not very loudly. Unfolding 
his manuscript, in a loud, clear voice he read his message. 
During the delivery of the inaugural, which began at 
half-past one o'clock, Mr. Lincoln was much cheered, 
especially at any allusion to the Union. 

President Buchanan and Chief Justice Taney listened 
with the utmost attention to every word of the address, 
and, at its conclusion, the latter administered the usual 



52 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

oatli, in answering to which Mr. Lincohi was vociferously 
cheered. The present inauguration is the eighth ceremo- 
ny of the kind at which Chief Justice Taney has officiated, 
having administered the oath of office, successively, to 
Presidents Van Buren, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, 
Pierce, Buchanan and Lincoln. The ceremony was ex- 
ceedingly impressive. The Chief Justice seemed to be 
very much agitated, and his hands shook very perceptibly 
with emotion. At the conclusion of the ceremonies the 
President was escorted to the Senate chamber, thence to 
his carriage, and the military, forming as in the proces- 
sion of the morning, accompanied him, with the commit- 
tee of arrangements, to the White House. On reaching 
the executive mansion the troops formed in double line, 
on Maine Avenue, and the barouche containing the Presi- 
dential party passed through to the White House. Mr. 
Buchanan accompanied Mr. Lincoln to the main hall, 
and there took a farewell leave of him, expressing a hope, 
in cordial terms, that his administration might prove a 
happy and a prosperous one. The ex-President then re- 
tired. On the arrival of the procession at the White 
House the marshals were successively introduced to Mr. 
Lincoln, and then, the line being formed, the rush of 
people to congratulate the new President was exceedingly 
great. Thus ended, for the day-time, the inaugural cer- 
emonies. 

Though the enthusiasm did not equal that manifested 
on former occasions, everything passed off quietly. The 
most ample civil and military preparations were made, by 
the municipal authorities and General Scott, to provide 
for any emergency that might arise. The various bodies 
of United States troops at Washington were stationed in 
different parts of the city, the sappers and miners alone 
being in the procession. General Scott, it is said, was 
near the Capitol, with Capt, Barry's company of artillery 
and Major Harkm's command, acting as infantry. Offi- 



THE KEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 53 

cers reported continually, passing to and fro, and it is 
said the General was heard to exclaim, — " Everything is 
going on peaceably ; thank God Almighty for it ! " Dur- 
ing the day military patrols were on duty all over the 
city, and the greatest vigilance was enjoined upon and 
observed by the regulars. 

The display of soldiery in the procession was very 
fine, but not equal to the 22d of February. The com- 
panies were quite numerous, but of small size. As a rule 
the Republican associations were placed in the order of 
march immediately after the ex-President. These or- 
ganizations had with them a kind of triumphal car, drawn 
by four white horses, each of which was covered with 
white cloth on which was the word " Union " in large 
letters on one side, and the word " Constitution " on the 
other. The car was decorated with miniature flags, and 
white, red and blue drapery, and contained thirty-four 
little girls, representing the States, and two young ladies, 
respectively representing the North and the South. The 
whole affair was under the charge of ten Wide-A wakes, in 
full uniform. Five hundred delegates from New York 
marched in the procession, four abreast. Several other 
large delegations also joined the line. 

The scene from the east front was very fine. The ave- 
nue in front of the portico was thronged with people, the 
crowd extending a great distance on either side, and 
reaching far into the Capitol grounds. Every available 
spot was black with human beings ; boys and men cling- 
ing to rails, and mounting on fences, and climbing trees, 
until they bent beneath their weight. On the outer edge 
of the concourse, the volunteer soldiery stood at rest dur- 
ing the delivery of the inaugural. A great number of 
flags were fljang, and as the sun shone brightly on the 
gay dresses of the ladies, and the uniforms and glittering 
weapons of the soldiery, the scene was exceedingly ani- 
mated. 

5* 



54 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

It is not my purpose, at this time, to give in detail the 
inaugural address of President Lincoln, or enter into the 
minutiee of that official document as a whole, but only 
that part of it which pertains to our affairs with the 
South and treats on the alleged causes of secession, 
which I copy verbatim. 

Extracts from the inaugural address of President Lin- 
coln, delivered March 4th, 1861 : — 

"Fellow-Citizens of the United States : — In compliance 
with a custom as old as the government itself I appear 
before you to address you briefly, and to take, in your 
presence, the oath prescribed by the Constitution of the 
United States, to be taken by the President before he 
enters on the execution of the duties of his office. I do 
not consider it necessary, at present, for me to discuss 
those matters of administration about which there is no 
special anxiety or excitement. Apprehension seems to 
exist among tlie people of the Southern States that, by 
the accession of a Republican administration, their prop- 
erty and their permanent peace and security are to be 
endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause 
for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence 
to the contrary has all the while existed, and been open 
to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the pub- 
lished speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but 
quote from one of those speeches when I declare that I 
have no purpose, directly or mdirectly, to interfere with 
the institution of slavery in the States where it now ex- 
ists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I 
have no inclination to do so. Those who nominated and 
elected me did so with full knowledge that I had made 
this and many similar declarations, and had never recant- 
ed them ; and, more than this, they placed in the platform 
for my acceptance, and as a law to themselves and to me, 
the clear and emphatic resolution which I now read : — 

^^^ Resolved, That the maintenance mviolate of the rights 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. . 55 

of the States, and especially the right of each State to 
order and control its own domestic institutions according 
to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that bal- 
ance of power on which the perfection and endurance of 
our political fabric depend ; and we denounce the lawless 
invasion, by an armed force, of any State or territory, no 
matter under what pretext, as the greatest of crimes.' 

" I now reiterate these sentiments, and in doing so I 
only press upon the public attention the most conclusive 
evidence of which the case is susceptible, that the prop- 
erty, peace and security of no section are to be in any 
wise endangered by the now incomhig administration. I 
add, too, that all the protection which, consistently with 
the Constitution and laws, can be given, will be cheerfully 
given to all the States, when lawfully demanded, for 
whatever cause, as cheerfully to one section as to another. 
There is much controversy about the delivering up of 
fugitives from service or labor. The clause I now read 
is as plainly written in the Constitution as any other of its 
provisions : — 

" ' No person held to service or labor in one State, under 
the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall in conse- 
quence of any law or regulation therein be discharged 
from such service or labor, but shall be dehvered up on 
claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be 
due.' 

" It is scarcely questioned that this provision was intend- 
ed by those who made it for the reclaiming of what we 
call fugitive slaves ; and the intention of the law-givers is 
the law. All members of Congress swear their support 
to the whole Constitution, — to this provision as much 
as any other. To the proposition, then, that slav.es 
whose cases come within the terms of this clause shall be 
delivered up, their oaths are unanimous. Now if they 
would make the effort, in good temper, would they not, with 
equal unanimity, frame and pass a law by means of wliich 



56 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

to keep good that unanimous oath ? There is some differ- 
ence of opinion whether this clause should be enforced by 
national or State authority ; but, surely, that difference is 
not a very material one. If the slave is to be surrendered, 
it can be of but little consequence, to him or to others, 
by what authority it is done ; and should any one, in any 
case, be content that his oaths should go unkept, on a 
merely unsubstantial controversy as to how it shall be 
kept ? 

"Again, in any law upon this subject, ought not all the 
safeguards of liberty, known in civilized and humane ju- 
risprudence, to be introduced, so that a free man be not in 
any case surrendered as a slave ; and might it not be well, 
at the same time, to provide by law for the enforcement 
of that clause in the Constitution which guarantees that 
the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the privi- 
leges and immunities of citizens in the several States ? 
I take the official oath, to-day, with no mental reserva- 
tions, and with no purpose to control the Constitution or 
laws by any hypercritical rules ; and, while I do not 
choose now to specify particular acts of Congress as 
proper to be enforced, I do suggest that it will be much 
safer for all, both in official and private stations, to con- 
form to and abide by all those acts that stand unrepealed, 
than to violate any of them trusting to find impunity in 
having them held to be unconstitutional. 

" It is seventy-two years since the first inauguration of a 
President under our national Constitution. During that 
period fifteen different and greatly distinguished citizens 
have, in succession, admmistered the executive branch 
of government. They have conducted it through many 
perils, and generally with great success ; yet with all this 
scope for precedent, I now enter upon the same task, for 
the brief constitutional term of four years, under grave 
and peculiar difficulties. 

"A disruption of the federal Union, heretofore only 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 57 

menaced, is now formidably attempted. I hold that, in 
contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution, 
the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is 
implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all 
national governments ; it is safe to assert that no govern- 
ment proper ever had a provision in its organic law for 
its own termination. Continue to execute all the express 
provisions of our national Constitution, and the Union 
will endure forever, it being impossible to destroy it ex- 
cept by some action not provided for in the instrument 
itself. 

"Again, if the United States be not a government proper, 
but an association of States, in the nature of a compact 
merely, can it as a compact be peaceably unmade, by less 
than all the parties who made it ? One party to a compact 
may violate it, break it, so to speak, but does it not re- 
quire all to lawfully rescind it ? Descending from these 
general principles, we find the proposition, that in legal 
contemplation the Union is perpetual, confirmed by the 
history of the Union itself. The Union is much older 
than the Constitution ; it was formed, in fact, by the 
articles of association, in 1774 ; it was matured and con- 
tinued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776 ; it 
was further matured, and the faith of all the then thir- 
teen States expressly plighted and engaged that it should 
be perpetual, by the Articles of Confederation in 1778, 
and, finally, in 1789. 

" One of the declared objects for ordaining and establish- 
ing the Constitution was to form a more perfect Union ; 
but if destruction by one, or by a part only, of the States 
be lawfully possible, the Union is less than before the 
Constitution, having lost the vital element of perpetuity. 
It follows from these ^dews that no State, upon its own 
mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union ; that 
resolves or ordinances to that effect are legally void, and 
that acts of violence, within any State or States, against 



58 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

the authority of the United States, are insurrectionary or 
revokitionary, according to circumstances. I tlierefore 
consider that, in view of the Constitution and the laws, 
the Union is unbroken ; and to the extent of my abihty 
I shall take ca.re, as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins 
upon me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully exe- 
cuted in all the States. Doing this I deem to be only a 
simple duty on my part, and shall perform it so far as 
practicable, unless my rightful masters, the American 
people, shall withdraw the requisition, or in some author- 
itative manner direct the contrary. I trust this will not 
be regarded as a menace, but only as the declared pur- 
pose of the Union, that it will constitutionally defend 
and mamtain itself. In doing this there needs to be no 
bloodshed or violence, and there shall be none, unless it 
be forced upon the national authority. 

" The power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy 
and possess the property and places belonging to the gov- 
ernment, and collect the duties and imposts ; but, beyond 
what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no 
invasion, no urging of force against or among the people, 
anywhere. Where hostility to the United States, in any 
interior territory, shall be so great and so universal as to 
prevent the competent resident citizens from holding the 
federal ofiices, there will be no attempt to force obnoxious 
strangers among people that object. "While the strict 
legal right may exist for the government to enforce the 
exercise of those offices, the attempt to do so would be so 
irritating, and so nearly impracticable withal, that I deem 
it better to forego, for the time, the uses of such offices. 

" The mails, unless repelled, will continue to be furnished 
in all parts of the Union, so far as possible. The people, 
everywhere, shall have that sense of perfect security which 
is most favorable to calm thought and reflection. The 
course here indicated will be followed, unless current 
events and experience shall show a modification or change 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 59 

to be proper, and in every case and exigency my best 
discretion will be exercised, according to circumstances 
actually existing, and with a view and a hope to a peace- 
ful solution of the national trouble and the restoration of 
fraternal sympathies and affections. 

" That there are persons, in one section or another, who 
seek to destroy the Union at all events, and are glad of 
any pretext to do it, I will neither afiirm nor deny ; but 
if there should be such I need address no word to them. 
To those, however, who really love the Union, may I not 
speak ? Before entering upon so grave a matter as the 
destruction of our national fabric, with all its benefits, 
its memories and its hopes, would it not be well to ascer- 
tain precisely why wo do it ? Will you hazard so desper- 
ate a step, while there is any possibility that any portion 
of the ills that you fly from have no real existence ? 
Will you, while the certain ills you fly to are greater than 
all the real ills you fly from, will you risk the commission 
of so fearful a mistake ? 

"All profess to be content in the Union if all constitu- 
tional rights can be maintained. Is it true, then, that 
any right plainly written in the Constitution has been 
denied ? I think not. Happily the human mind is so 
constituted that no party can reach the audacity of doing 
this. Think, if you can, of a single instance in which a 
plainl3^-written provision of the Constitu.tion has ever 
been denied. 

" One section of our country believes slavery is right, and 
ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong 
and ought not to be extended ; this is the only substan- 
tial dispute. The fugitive slave clause of the Constitu- 
tion, and the law for the suppression of the foreign slave- 
trade, are each as well enforced, perhaps, as any law can 
ever be in a community where the moral sense of the 
people imperfectly supports the law itself. The great 
body of the people abide by the dry legal obligation in 



60 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

both cases, and a few break over in each. This, I think, 
cannot be perfectly cured, and it would be worse, in both 
cases, after the separation of the sections, than before. 
The foreign slave-trade, now imperfectly suppressed, would 
be ultimately revived without restriction in one section, 
while fugitive slaves, now only partially surrendered, 
would not be surrendered at all by the other. Physically 
speaking, we cannot separate ; we cannot remove our 
respective sections from each other, nor build an impass- 
able wall between them. A husband and wife may be 
divorced and go out of the presence and beyond the reach 
of each other ; but the different parties of our country 
cannot do this. They cannot but remain face to face, 
and intercourse — either amiable or hostile relations — 
must continue between them. Is it possible, then, to 
make that intercourse more advantageous or more satis- 
factory after separation than before ? Can aliens make 
treaties easier than friends can make laws ? Can treaties 
be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws 
among friends ? Suppose you go to war, you cannot 
fight always ; and when, after much loss on both sides 
and no gain on either, you cease fighting, the identical 
questions, as to terms of intercourse, are again upon you. 
" This country, with its institutions, belongs to the peo- 
ple who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of 
the existing government they can exercise their constitu- 
tional right of amending, or their revolutionary right to 
dismember or overthrow it. I cannot be ignorant of the 
fact that many worthy and patriotic citizens are desirous 
of having the national Constitution amended. While I 
make no recommendation of amendment, I fully recog- 
nize the authority of the people over the whole subject, to 
be exercised in either of the modes prescribed in the in- 
strument itself; and I should, under existing circum- 
stances, favor rather than oppose a fair opportunity being 
oifered the people to act uj^on it. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



61 



" I will venture to add that, to mo, the convention mode 
seems preferable, in that it allows amendments to origin- 
ate with the people themselves, instead of only permitting 
them to take a proposition originated by others, not 
especially chosen for the purpose, and which might not be 
precisely such as they would wish to either accept or refuse. 

" I understand a proposed amendment to the Constitu- 
tion, which amendment I have not seen, has passed Con- 
gress, to the effect that the federal government shall never 
interfere with the domestic institutions of the States, in- 
cluding that of persons held to service. To avoid mis- 
construction of what I have said, I depart from my pur- 
pose not to speak of particular amendments so far as to 
say, that, holding such a provision to be now implied con- 
stitutional law, I have no objection to its being made ex- 
press and irrevocable. 

" The chief magistrate derives all his authority from 
the people, and they have conferred none upon him 
to fix terms for the separation of the States ; the people 
themselves can do this alone, if they choose, but the 
Executive, as such, has nothing to do with it. His 
duty is to administer the present government, as it came 
to his hands, and to transmit it unimpaired by him to his 
successor. 

" Why should there not be a patient confidence in the 
ultimate justice of the people ? Is there any better or 
equal hope in the world ? In our present differences 
is either party without faith of being right ? If the Al- 
inighty Ruler of Nations, with his eternal truth and jus- 
tice, be on your side of the North, or on yours of the 
South, that truth and that justice will surely prevail, Vjy 
the judgment of this great tribunal — the American 
people. 

" By the frame of government under which we live, the 
same people have wisely given their public servants but 
little power for mischief, and have, with equal wisdom, 

6 



62 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

provided for the return of that little to their own hands, 
at very short intervals. While the people retain virtue 
and vigilance, no administration of any extreme of wick- 
edness or folly can very seriously injure the government 
in the short space of four years. 

" My countrymen, one and all ; think calmly and well 
upon this whole suliject. Nothing valuable can be lost 
by taking time. If there be an object to hurry any of 
you, in hot haste, to a step which you would never take 
deliberately, that object will be fru.stratcd by taking time ; 
but no good object can be frustrated by it. Such of you 
as are now dissatisfied still have the old Constitution 
unimpaired, and, on the sensitive point, the laws of your 
own framing under it ; while the new administration have 
no immediate power, if it would, to change either. If it 
were admitted that you who are dissatisfied hold the right 
side in the dispute, there is still no single good cause for 
precipitate action. 

" Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity and a fiim reliance 
on Him wlio has never yet forsaken this favored land, are 
still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present 
difficulties. In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-coun- 
trymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil 
war. The government will not assail you. You can 
have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. 
You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the 
government, while I shall have the most solemn one to 
preserve, protect and defend it. 

" I am loth to close ; we are not enemies, but friends ; we 
must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, 
it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic 
chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field and 
patriot grave to every living heart and hearth-stone, all 
over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the 
Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the 
better angels of our nature." 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 63 

Mr, Lincoln's delivery was good, with but little gesture 
and small pretence of oratory, yet it fell upon the ear like 
right words, well spoken ; and as he ottered the closing 
sentence of the address, a loud and still louder and more 
prolonged cheer announced that the inaugural was deliv- 
ered, and the long, fearful struggle was over, and a re- 
publican President safely inaugurated ; and not even with 
the close of the ceremony did the curious cease to specu- 
late as to the probabilities and chances of his assassina- 
tion, which was confidently expected, though of course 
greatly to be dreaded, followed as it would be by riot, 
panic, and an immediate necessity for a display of force. 

But that brave old veteran. General Scott, was prepai-ed 
for any emergency, and three minutes would have found 
artillery, cavalry and infantry ready at their posts to put 
down insurrection and protect the national capital, at all 
hazards. But the day passed off peaceably, and no foul 
deed was done to stain our country's honor, 

Mr. Lincoln, on being asked whether he felt a,t all 
frightened while delivering his inaugural address, the 
threats of assassination having been so numerous, replied 
that he had no such sensation, and that he had often ex- 
perienced much greater fear in addressing a dozen West- 
ern men on the subject of temperance. 

The delivery of the message commenced at 1.30 p. m., 
and at four o'clock it had been telegraphed to all the 
principal cities, and was in the hands of all the agents of 
the associated press. 

The inaugural of President Lincoln met with very general 
commendation throughout the free States. The journals 
that give voice to the popular feeling praise the candor, 
ability, and firm yet conciliatory spirit, of the address, 
while a few papers, politically opposed to the President, 
condemn, though faintly, its leading features. But he 
will be sustained by the great mass of the people, whose 
sentiments he has so truly reflected. Li speakmg of the 



64 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

address, a Providence paper contains the following brief 
paragraph : — 

" His honest, simple, straight-forward declarations of 
fidelity to the spirit of our government and Constitution 
must commend themselves to all, and awaken a response 
in every patriotic heart. No langiiage could be chosen 
which would more strongly and unequivocally express the 
resolve to respect the rights of the South, to let slavery in 
the States utterly alone, to fulfil the constitutional obli- 
gation respecting fugitive slaves, and to treat with the 
utmost kindness the citizens of the Southern States, than 
that which the President employs." 

And, again, a Newburyport paper says : — " President 
Lincoln's inaugural will be read by all. It will be ad- 
mired by every patriot in the land. It is a glorious mes- 
sage — words of wisdom, of conciliation, of peace; yes, 
and as brave and firm as pacific. It has about it nothing 
noisy, declamatory and boisterous ; it bears upon its every 
line the calmness of self-reliant truth, and it carries with 
it a consciovisness of strength that can aiford to bear and 
forbear, and yet possess the power, when necessary, to 
assert and maintain the right." 

March 22d. Dr. Fox, of the navy, visited Major Ander- 
son, as a special messenger of government. 

March 25th. Col. Lamon, government messenger, had 
an interview with Governor Pickens and General Beaure- 
gard. 

April 3d. Long cabmet meeting on Fort Sumter busi- 
ness. Great activity in the navy department. 

We have thus far, the reader will see, given only the 
Northern side of the question ; we now propose to retrace 
our steps and give an account of the movements in the 
Southern States during the same period, — thinking this 
mode preferable, as the commingling of events would dis- 
tract our readers, and cause them to partially lose sight 
of the chain of proceedings on either side. 



CHAPTER IV. 

In vain is the strife : when its fury is past. 
Their fortunes must flow in one channel at last, 
As the ton-ents that rush from the mountains of snow 
Boll, mingled in peace, through the valleys below. 

Atlantic Monthly. 

Nothing can be more absurd than the claim that the 
success of the Republican party has brought about the 
present condition of affairs at the South. That the wick- 
edness, incompetency and inability of the last administra- 
tion constitute one of the principal causes of the existing 
national troubles and peril, is evident enough to all hon- 
est-minded and intelligent citizens ; and that the Presi- 
dent of the United States, especially, has been weighed in 
the balance and found wanting, is a truth mournfully ob- 
vious to the whole people of the land. 

The fire-eaters at the South have contributed their full 
share towards the mischief. The Rhetts of South Caroli- 
na, and the Wendell Phillipses of Boston, who regard the 
Union as "a league with hell and a covenant with death," 
can boast that they have " labored faithfully for twenty 
years " to dissever the bonds which fasten together our 
glorious Union. The Greeleys, John Browns, and others 
of the Beecher school have contributed their mite towards 
discord and disunion, while the reverend Beecher and 
other electioneering parsons, who prostitute the pulpit to 
partisan politics, and use the influence which belongs to 
ministers of the gospel for political purposes, have con- 
stantly fanned the flame, and kept it alive, which might 
ere this, if left to itself, have become extmct. 

6* 65 



6Q THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

When, in these Northern States, we enter the church ded- 
icated to Alniig'htj God, where we expect to hear preached 
Christ and liim crucified, " peace on earth and good-will 
to men," we find the pulpit has been prostituted for the 
purpose of enlisting its adherents and hearers in this anti- 
slavery crusade agahist the South, as a part and parcel of 
its religious teachings, berating and condemning our South- 
ern brethren because they happen to be born in a land 
where there exists an institution which they themselves 
had no hand in establishing. 

The prevailing idea entertained by most of the leading 
statesmen, at the time of the formation of the Constitu- 
tion, was that the enslavement of the African was in vio- 
lation of the laws of nature. It was an evil they knew 
not well how to deal with ; but the general opinion of the 
men of that day was, that somehow or other, in the order 
of Providence, the institution would be evanescent, and 
pass away. 

Much has been said and written, by the extremists of 
the abolition party, which has served to inflame the hot 
blood of the South, who receiye it, and without investiga- 
tion charge it upon the North, as the ruling sentiment of 
the people ; yet, notwithstanding, the oft-repeated asser- 
tion of the South, of injuries received and wrongs perpe- 
trated, is a mere fallacy to assist in the work of dis- 
union. 

The real tvork has been accomplished by temporizing 
politicians, who have sought for momentary local success 
in catering to a deluded populace, but have falsely calcu- 
lated upon being able to control the storm ere it should 
prove destructive. While we would condemn the course 
pursued by Northern politicians and ultra abolitionists, 
for their aggressions on slavery, we see no just or reason- 
able cause for the action of the South, or why fears need 
be entertained for their constitutional rights. 

The Vice-President of the Confederate States, Mr. A. 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 67 

H. Stevens, in a speech made at Savannah, March 21st, 
1861, says : — 

" The Constitution, it is true, secures every essential 
guarantee to the institution (slavery) while it should last, 
and hence no argument can be justly used against the 
constitutional guarantees thus secured, because of the 
common sentiment of the day." 

The secession movement, which took form and consis- 
tency by the action of South Carolina immediately after 
the election of Lincoln, was not the conception of an hour ; 
it was not the result of the election of a Republican Presi- 
dent ; it was not that the Constitution gave tliem no rights, 
or equality in the Union ; it. was not the result of wrongs 
inflicted upon the South by the free States ; nor was it the 
agitation of the slavery question, which have brought upon 
us the horrors of fratricidal war. The prime moving 
cause is ambition, — the hungering and thirsting after 
the balance of power ; — that sordid ambition which 
would prompt them to force their way into the highest 
positions of power, even though it lay over heaps of the 
slain and through seas of l)lood, and then weep, like Al- 
exander, because they had not anotlier world to conquer. 

This is the pervading spirit of Southern partisan leaders, 
who would, Judas-like, sell their country for filthy lucre ; 
yet their keen perceptive faculties told them they must 
have an excuse, and in order to give the rebellion a sem- 
blance of justice they made the slavery question their 
pretence ; and the election of Lincoln, with his Republican 
principles, afforded them a single thread on which to sus- 
pend their operations. 

In 1850, when the slavery question was agitated, and 
trouble was anticipated therefrom, a gentleman from 
Boston asked General Houston how it could be settled. 
The General replied, — "You go North and shoot six 
men, and I will go South and shoot half-a-dozen, then, 
I think, thmgs will go on quietly." 



68 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The love of the Union was so strong in the majority of 
Southern hearts, the disinchnation to encounter the haz- 
ards of a revohition so apparent, it became necessary for 
the leaders to act with great caution in setting on foot 
their movement for disunion. If the people demurred, 
they were told by the immediate secessionists that the 
North had pursued, from the inception of the government 
up to the present time, one continual course of aggression, 
— that they had no equality in the Union, in fact that 
they were but the slaves of the North ; until, in listening 
to the inflammatory appeals of their speakers, they covild, 
in imagination, almost hear the clanking of Northern 
chains around them. The old story was told, of wrongs 
endured, of slaves stolen, of unjust imposition of taxes 
by way of tariff levies, of unconstitutional personal lib- 
erty bills ; then the evident fact that the institution of 
slavery was to be excluded from the territories in the 
West, thus seemingly denying the South of what they 
called their rights in that unsettled domain ; then, as the 
topmost " crowning stone " of all the indignities heaped 
upon them, the North had become so heartless and so 
estranged as to elect a " sectional President," which they 
considered a sufficient reason to justify them, in the eyes 
of the civilized world, for secession ; — though a mere 
pretence, as will be seen by the declaration of the leaduig 
spirits of the South Carolina convention (as quoted by 
Governor Hicks in his address to the people of Maryland), 
that neither the election of Lincoln, nor the non-execution 
of the fugitive slave law, nor both combined, constitute 
their grievances ; that the real cause of their discontent 
dates as far back as 1833. 

In 1858 the leaders of the rebellion began to prepare 
the minds of the people for immediate secession. In the 
fall of that year, Jefferson Davis, in a speech at Jackson, 
Mississippi, took the position of a direct secession advo- 
cate. He says, — " If an abolitionist be chosen President 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 69 

of the United States, you will have presented to you the 
question of whether you will permit the government to 
pass into the hands of your avowed and implacable ene- 
mies ; that such a result would be a species of revolution, 
by which the purposes of the government would be de- 
stroyed, and the observance of its forms entitled to no 
respect ; " and hitimated that, in that event, it was their 
duty to provide for their safety outside of the Union, de- 
claring that, otherwise, they would be deprived of their 
birthright, and reduced to a state worse than the colonial 
dependence of their fathers. 

This catalogue of indignities and fallacies, when prop- 
erly presented to the excitable and sensitive people of the 
South, met with a hearty response. It was too much for 
them to bear. They agreed upon the matter of grievance, 
and resolved to maintain their right to a separate confed- 
eracy at the point of the sword ; and the election of an 
" abolitionist," that is, any man with Northern or free-soil 
principles, was to be the signal for an effort to cast off 
allegiance to the Constitution. 

The South felt that more territory must be had at any 
sacrifice. Kansas and Nebraska lost, all was lost, — Henry 
Clay's " Compromise Act " of 1821 guaranteeing to all 
that region freedom forever, and Texas could not for 
years gain population sufficient to allow of her subdivis- 
ion into States. 

The compromise consisted of admitting Missouri as a 
slave State, but conceding, as an equivalent for Northern 
concession in the premises, the prohibition of any further 
slave territory north of the parallel 36 degrees 30 min- 
utes. The compromise, though unpalatable to the op- 
ponents of the right of slave extension, was accepted as a 
solemn guarantee against all further extension. Had it 
not been proposed and pledged as such a guarantee, the 
bill of Mr. Clay never could have passed the House of 
Representatives. 



70 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

It was not until August, 1821, that the State was ad- 
mitted, which, together with the later admission of Arkan- 
sas and Florida, confirmed the supremacy of the South 
in the national councils ; a supremacy which was not dis- 
turbed until the 4th of January, 1854, when Mr. Douglas, 
chairman of the committee on territories, in the United 
States Senate, introduced a bill for the organization of 
the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, which provided 
that the said territory, or any portion of the same, when 
admitted as a State, shall be received into the Union with 
or without slavery, as their constitution may prescribe at 
the time of their admission ; — thus abrogating the vener- 
able and respected Missouri Compromise Act of 1821, 
and giving to the people of a territory the right to make 
their own laws, — denying to Congress the power to legis- 
late laws for its territories. 

That act l)ecame a law, after one of the most exciting 
sessions of Congress known for many years ; and it 
proved to be one of the most fatal acts for the peace of 
the country whicli could have been conceived. It alarmed 
the North ; from the South came armed bands who pur- 
sued the anti-slavery settlers in the territories vrith. a ven- 
geance, making the record of 1855 and '56 one of out- 
rage and bloodshed. 

The North, aggravated by this armed attempt to make 
a slave State out of soil unfitted for slave labor, poured 
in its settlers, armed them for defence, gave them supplies 
to sustain them through the day of trial, and, eventually, 
obtained the victory through the action of the principle 
of " Squatter Sovereignty," and obtained control cf affairs 
by mere force of numbers. 

The struggle to make Kansas a free State called into 
existence the Republican party, which, in a brief period, 
elected its candidate to the chief magistracy. 

Mortified at their defeat, cut off from any further ex- 
tension of slave representation, the Southern States saw 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 71 

before them their long-apprehended disaster of a minority 
in the government. If they remained in the Union, it 
must be as the weaker half. At this their pride revolted. 
The " balance of power " ranks were weakened by the 
election of a Eepublican President, as it closed up the 
avenues to the accession of more slave territory. In this 
way, and in no other, can it be said that the election of 
Lincoln precipitated this rebellion. 

Had the South succeeded in electing their candidate 
to the Presidency, who would administer the government 
after the pattern of the last administration, grant all theu' 
requests in the way of rebuilding their forts, strengthen- 
ing their fortifications, providing them with military stores, 
arms and munitions of war, then, undoubtedly, rebellion 
and all its train of blood would have been averted until 
the next Presidential election, as it would give them an 
additional four years to prepare for the conflict which 
must eventually come. It is urged by the immediate 
leaders of the secession movement that the North had 
perverted the Constitution from its original intent and 
purposes, that they had no equality in the Union, and no 
hopes of redress for grievances, only in secession. 

We would say, for the benefit of those who make the 
plea that the South has been denied her rights and just 
share in the government, that for sixty-four years out of 
seventy-two the executive chair has been filled nearly all 
the time by Southern Presidents, or, when not by South- 
ern men, by those possessing the confidence of the South ; 
and of all the offices in the gift of the government, in 
every department, far more than her proportionate share 
has always been enjoyed by the South ; that our army 
and navy have for years been controlled by Southern 
men ; that our ships of war, and the fortifications along 
our coast, have nearly all been officered and commanded 
by men of Southern principles, to the exclusion of the 
sons of the North. 



72 THE KEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Then, again, the right of free speech has been asserted 
by Southern senators, in the halls of Congress, who claim 
the privilege of expressing their opinions freely on all 
subjects, even to vilifying opposite parties in unmeasured 
terms ; but when a Northern senator acts upon the same 
principle, and speaks according to the dictates of his own 
conscience, he must apologize, or is visited summarily 
with the cane or the challenge. 

New York alone has nearly double the free population 
of the six original " seceded States," yet she had only 
thirty-three representatives to their twenty-six ; which 
proves how largely slaves are represented in Congress, — 
the negroes entering into " population " in the proportion 
of five negroes for three in count, thus bearing to Con- 
gress the preponderating weight of their votes without 
any of the rights of citizenship appertaining to them. 

And, again, Ohio has more free white population than 
the whole six States originally seceded, yet she had only 
twenty-one representatives in Congress, while they had 
twenty-six. 

Whether these facts prove that the South has been de- 
nied her rights, we leave our readers to judge ; and how 
far the South stands acquitted before the tribunal of na- 
tions and the bar of justice, time, and the succeeding pages 
of this work, will show. 

It is not necessary to the accomplishment of our pur- 
pose (giving a history of the rebellion) to go farther back 
than the Presidential election, as we have touched, though 
lightly, on former feuds ; and the feeling of prejudice which 
has existed between the two sections, for many years, is 
well known to our readers, and requires no comment. 

We find, under date Richmond, Va., October 31, 1860, 
that war preparations were commenced, that arms and 
ammunitions were being rapidly distributed, and a deter- 
' mination to resist the general government was developing 
more and more each day. They regarded the Union as 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 73 

founded upon a very uncertain basis, and that, in case of 
Lincoln's election, the long-threatened crash must soon 
come, and all were bus)' preparing for it. 

Senator Wigfall, of Texas notoriety, in a speech at 
Hun tsville, Alabama, took occasion to say, — "I would 
see the Union rent in a thousand fragments before I 
would vote for John Bell." 

November 5th. The legislature of South Carolina met 
at Columbia, and received the Governor's (Gist's) mes- 
sage. Therein he suggested immediate secession, in case 
Lincoln was elected, and earnestly recommended military 
re-organization, and that every man in the State, between 
the ages of eighteen and forty-five, should be armed by 
the State with the most efficient weapons of modern war- 
fare, and also recommended raising, without delay, ten 
thousand volunteers, to be in readiness at the shortest 
notice, and adds, " that they may trust their cause to 
the Supreme Disposer of events." An immense crowd 
asseml)led in the evening, at the Congaree House, and 
serenaded Senator Chesnut, who made a long and elo- 
quent speech, declaring the last hope of the Union gone, 
and resistance unavoidal^le. 

At the celebration in Savannah, of the completion of 
the Charleston and Savannah railroad, the mayor pledged 
fifty thousand Georgians to rush to the assistance of 
South Carolina, if coerced ; Collector Colcock, of Charles- 
ton, made an eloquent disunion speech ; Mr. Buchanan 
was toasted as " the last of an illustrious line ; " the 
greatest enthusiasm for a Southern Confederacy pre- 
vailed, and all were resolved to fight. 

Same day, at Portsmouth, Va., Governor Wise made a 
disunion speech of over four hours in length. He pro- 
tested that he would never submit to Lincoln's election. 
He closed amid the wildest enthusiasm. For several 
minutes the house shook with the shouts of the excited 
multitude. 

7 



74 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

November 6. Presidential election day. The news of 
the Republican triumph was received throughout the 
Southern States with loud demonstrations of civil war 
and disunion. 

On the 8th a mass meeting of the citizens was held at 
Savannah to consider the result of the election, at which 
it was unanimously resolved, that the election of Lincoln 
and Hamlin ought not, and would not be submitted to, 
and suggested to the legislature to take steps to organize 
and arm the military forces of the State. A Southern 
Rights club hoisted a banner in one of the public squares, 
with this inscription, — 

EQUALITY OP THE STATES, 

the painting of a rattlesnake, with the motto, — 

don't TREAD ON ME; 

and though but forty-eight hours since the reception of 
the news of Lincoln's election, the feeling of the people 
was clearly manifested by the cheers that greeted the 
appearance of the banner ; minute-men were organizing, 
and old men and young were mounting the secession 
badge, — a blue cockade. 

In Macon, Ga., and Mobile, Ala., the excitement was 
intense, and corps of minute-men were organizing. 

A correspondent writing from Columbia, S. C, and 
Charleston, under date Nov. 9, says, " There is no need 
of speeches to inflame the people ; they are, to a man, 
for secession ;" and gives an account of the furore of 
excitement created by the resignation of the officers of 
the United States Court in that city. It was estimated 
that at least five thousand people called to pay their 
respects to ex- Judge Magrath. He addressed them in 
glowing words as to the great responsibilities and de- 
mands of the crisis, and they manifested the most pro- 
found emotions by continually-recurring applause. Till 
nearly midnight the streets presented the most animated 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 75 

appearance. The crowd illuminated their passage by- 
rockets and other fireworks, and the air resounded with 
their deafening cries. 

November 10. Senator Chesnut, of South Carolina, 
resigned his seat in the United States Senate. A bill was 
introduced in the South Carolina legislature to call out 
and equip ten thousand volunteers, and ordered an 
election of delegates to a convention to take action on 
the question of secession, the election to be held Dec. 6, 
the convention to assemble Dec. 17. The legislature 
appointed the 21st instant as a day of fasting, humilia- 
tion and prayer. 

In the evening a great crowd, numbering about two 
thousand persons, assembled in front of the Congaree 
House, Columbia, S. C, and were addressed by Judge 
Magrath, Messrs. Connor, Colcock, and Cunningham. 
Mr. Magrath said South Carolina had a right to secede. 
The people, the legislature and Heaven will say she has 
the right ; and if the government at Washington should 
say she has not the right, then let the government prove 
it by taking the right away. 

Mr. Colcock said that, although this was a large meet- 
ing, he wished to see one more in it, and that was Abra- 
ham Lincoln. He would take him by the hand and 
bring him to the platform, and tell him to look upon that 
great crowd, and then ask him if he ever expected to 
wave his presidential sceptre over the heads of that 
people. "Honest Abe," he knew, with downcast eyes, 
would answer, " Never." 

Immense excitement throughout the South. Large 
meetings held in New Orleans, Augusta, Montgomery 
and Vicksburg, to favor disunion. Great numbers of 
resignations of postmasters, custom-house officers, etc., 
received at the departments at Washington. " Minute- 
men" organizations making throughout the cotton 
States. 



76 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

November 11. Senator Hammond, of South Carolina, 
resigned his seat in the United States Senate. 

In Charleston, on the 12th. at night, a large and 
enthusiastic meeting was held at Institute Hall. The 
galleries were filled with ladies, and every part of the 
building was crowded to suffocation. Judge Magrath 
presided. When the speaker declared, " This Union is 
dissolved," the enthusiasm of the people was beyond 
bounds ; they rose to their feet, threw up their hats, and 
cheered till hoarse ; outside, " Minute-men " from Colum- 
bia were parading, houses were illuminated, fireworks 
set off; the people joining in every imaginable demon- 
stration of joy on this occasion, and cheer after cheer 
rent the air. 

Governor Brown, of Georgia, made a strong resistance 
speech at Milledgeville, declaring the right of secession, 
and said if the federal troops attempted coercion, for 
every Georgian who fell in the conflict the heads of two 
federal soldiers should atone for the outrage on State 
sovereignty. 

A correspondent, writing from Richmond, Va., says, 
" The secession movement is going forward with a rush. 
All the conciliatory letters that ' Old Abe ' could write 
for a month would be of no avail in staying the progress 
of this movement. The South would not regard as sin- 
cere one word he might say in conflict with his matured 
and long-standing convictions. The crisis is come, and 
secession is inevitable." 

November 13. South Carolina legislature adjourned, 
sine die. 

November 14. Immense torch-light procession in Co- 
lumbia, in honor of the action of the South Carolina 
legislature. 

Florida, by her Governor, telegraphed to the Governor 
of South Carolina that she would stand by the gallant 
Palmetto flao;. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 77 

November 15. Senator Toombs made a powerful seces- 
sion speech at Milledgeville, Georgia. 

Governor Letcher, of Virginia, called an extra session 
of the legislature, to assemble Jan. 7, to take into con- 
sideration the condition of public affairs. 

November 17. Grand gathering of citizens of Charles- 
ton, S. C, to inaugurate the revolution. A mammoth 
pole was erected near the Charleston Hotel, and the 
hoisting of the State flag on it was duly celebrated. The 
pole was made of Carolina pine, one hundred feet high, 
and surmounted by the cap of liberty. Cables were 
stretched across the streets to prevent the passage of 
vehicles. A dense crowd was collected on Meeting Street, 
extending over two squares. The neighboring house- 
tops, windows and balconies were thronged with ladies 
waving their handkerchiefs. The flag was hoisted amid 
tremendous cheering and the wildest excitement ; the 
Washington Artillery paraded, and fired one hundred 
guns as the flag went up ; bells were rung, and the band 
played the Marsellaise Hymn. After the Marsellaise the 
band played the " Miserere," from " II Trovatore," as a 
funeral dirge for the Union. At the same time the 
Charleston Hotel, the Mills House, and other large hotels, 
flung out the Palmetto flag, and the people voived that the 
stars and stripes should never again wave in Charleston. 

When the cheering, attendant upon hoisting the flag, 
subsided, prayer was offered by the Rev. C. P. Gadsden, 
invoking God as their refuge and strength, asking protec- 
tion for the liberties with which their fathers were blessed, 
their commerce and their firesides, and praying to be 
inspired with courage, with a spirit of self-sacrifice, and a 
love of law and order. That God would consecrate with 
especial favor the banner of liberty which that day had 
been hung in the heavens, and graciously keep the city 
over which it floated, and finally make them that happy 
people whose God is the Lord. 

7* 



78 THE KEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

After the 2:)rayer, speeches were made, the speakers 
all addressing the crowd as citizens of the " Southern 
Repiibhc." During the speaking, processions poured in 
from different sections of the city, with music and can- 
non, each saluting the Palmetto flag. 

From the windows of dwellings were suspended ban- 
ners with such mottoes as " Now or never ; " "No step 
backward ; " " The argument is ended ; " " Stand to 
your arms;" "South Carolina goes it alone, — her 
trumps, Magrath, Colcock, and Conner, — with these she 
claims a march." 

Secession badges worn by men, women, and children. 
M. L. Bonham, member of Congress from South Caro- 
lina, resigned his seat in that body. The prayer for the 
President of the United States was omitted in the Epis- 
copal churches in Charleston. 

Nov. 18. Georgia legislature appropriated one million 
dollars to arm and equip the State. Ordered an election 
of delegates to a State convention, to be held January 2, 
the convention to assemble January 9. 

Nov. 19. Governor Moore, of Louisiana, ordered the 
legislature of that State to convene Dec. 10. 

We learn from Richmond, Va., through reliable 
sources, that there was at this time (Nov. 19), fully 
armed and equipped, in Virginia, a force of one hundred 
thousand of the elite of the young men of the State, with 
a reserve force of one hundred thousand more ; that they 
had purchased from the United States government, since 
October 1st, five thousand smooth-bore percussion mus- 
kets, which had arrived there, and that eight thousand 
;stand of arms of different classes, purchased at the 
JS^orth, had been forwarded within the previous week. 

Virginia entered into a contract for three thousand 
shells, to suit heavy artillery, besides live hundred bar- 
rels of Dupont powder, which had been purchased and 
stored at Lexino-ton and Richmond. Two thousand new 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 79 

sabres had been provided for cavalry, besides one thou- 
sand old ones, which had been improved in a manner to 
suit any emergency ; also one thousand revolving pistols 
of the Dean and Adams model, which were soon to be 
distributed. These were exclusive of the regular arms 
in the depot of the State. 

November 20. Large arrivals in New York of arms 
for the South. Heavy orders received and filled in New 
York for rifles, ammAinitions, pistols, etc., for the South. 

Both branches of the North Carolina legislature con- 
vened. The Governor, in his message, recommendad the 
enrolment of all men between eighteen and forty-five 
years, and also the raising of a corps of ten thousand 
volunteers, with arms and equipments. A correspondent 
writes : " Non-intercourse with the free States is decid- 
edly the sentiment of the people, and domestic uniforms 
are becoming all the rage for the military companies. 

A party of young gentlemen, of New Orleans, in 
whose chivalric hearts the secession fever raged intensely, 
resolved to wear no cloth but what was made south of 
Mason and Dixon's line, consequently ordered entire suits 
to be made for each one, of Kentucky jeans, and only 
discovered when too late that the goods were manufac- 
tured in Massachusetts. 

November 22. The Washington and Philadelphia 
banks suspended specie payment. The banks of Balti- 
more and Richmond suspended two days previously. 
Notes of all Southern banks at a heavy discount in New 
York. The New York banks resolved to consolidate 
funds, and afford relief by a liberal line of discount. 

Nov. 23. Suspension of North Carolina banks legal- 
ized by the legialature of that State. Numerous bank 
suspensions announced in Pittsburg, Pa., Trenton, N. J., 
and Charleston, S. C. 

Great public meeting in New Orleans to organize a 
" Southern Rights Association," whose purpose is to aid 



80 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

in carrying the State out of the Union. A correspondent 
writing from New Orleans, says : — • 

" The Southern heart is fired at last to its fullest extent, 
and whether it has the ' constitutional ' right to secede 
or not, it is now too late to argue, and no one will pre- 
tend to doubt its ' revolutionary ' right to secede ; that a 
vast majority of the people of New Orleans are consoli- 
dated as ' minute-men ' of the blue-cockade stamp ; that 
' minute-men' are forming throughout the cotton States 
in legions, and that the tide of the ' impending crisis ' has 
turned against the North, and you may soon look for such 
an ' irrepressible conflict ' in the Northern States, when 
the hundreds and thousands of mechanics and laborers 
shall be turned out of employ, as the North has never 
dreamed of." 

November 29. The Vermont legislature votes against 
a repeal of its personal liberty bill, — 125 to 58. 

The Mississippi legislature authorized the Governor to 
appoint as many commissioners as he might deem neces- 
sary, to visit each of the slave-holding States, to inform 
them that the Mississippi legislature had authorized a 
convention to consider the necessary steps for meeting the 
crisis. The commissioners were to solicit the co-opera- 
tion of legislatures to devise means " for their common 
defence and safety." 

By dispatches from New Orleans we learn that the 
excitement in that city was immense, and the secession 
feeling momentarily increasing. Disunion was regarded 
as inevitable. 

The bank bill to suspend specie payment of banks in 
Georgia re-passed over the Governor's veto. 

A bill was introduced into the house of the Georgia 
legislature prohibiting the levying of any execution from 
the courts of the United States on the property of cit- 
izens of Georgia, prior to December, 1861, — all sales 
under such process to be void. 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 81 

We copy the following from a " Connecticut paper." 
We do not vouch for the truth of the statement, but 
it is rather spicy, and we give it to our readers as we 
receive it. 

"A young lady from Vermont, teaching in a town in 
Georgia, writes to her parents thus : — 

"' The people here are very much excited over the elec- 
tion of Mr. Lincoln. Yesterday they formed a military 
company among the young men, with a view to the exi- 
gencies of the hour, and to-day they came out to drill. 
The most remarkable part of that performance, to a 
Yankee girl, was to see each soldier have a negro along 
to carry his gun.' " 

By advices from Florida, we learn that secession flags 
were flying in many portions of the State, and that the 
secession feeling largely predominated. 

The following is an extract from the message of Gov- 
ernor Perry to the legislature of Florida : — 

" I most decidedly declare that, in my opinion, the only 
hope the Southern States have for their domestic peace 
and safety, or for future respectability and prosperity, is 
dependent on their action now, and that the proper action 
is secession from our faithless, peijured confederates." 



CHAPTER Y. 

Our Union is river, lake, ocean, and sky ; 
Man breaks not the medal when God cuts the die ; 
Tliough darkened by suljjhur, though cloven with steel, 
The blue arch will brighten,, the waters will heal. 

Atlantic Monthly. 

December 1. A committee of citizens of Texas, com- 
posed of leading men, petitioned Governor Houston to 
convene the legislature. The Governor responded that 
the present agitation throughout the country, and par- 
ticularly in the South, arisuig from the election of a 
President and Vice-President upon a sectional issue, 
called for the calm deliberation of statesmen. That the 
assembling of delegates from sovereign States, in a con- 
sultative character and within the scope of their constitu- 
tional powers, " to preserve the equal rights of such 
States in the Union," might result in the adoption of 
such measures as would restore harmony between the 
two sections of the Union ; and should such a conven- 
tion be called, he would, upon receipt of information as 
to the time and place of its assemblmg, immediately 
order an election of seven delegates to represent Texas 
in the same. That he could see no reason for involving 
the State in the expenses incident to a session of the 
legislature, and altogether viewing the measure unwise, 
he could not convene it ; but, if a majority of the citi- 
zens of the State petitioned for it, he would not stand in 
the way, adding, " We have the Constitution to maintain, 
and in maintaining the Constitution we must maintain 
our rights ; when the Constitution fails to give them to 
us, I am for revolution. My action has been prompt, 

82 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 83 

decided and legal. Finding a course marked out for me 
by law, I have followed it, and am now awaiting a 
response." 

The secession feeling largely predominated in the 
southern and eastern portion of the State. 

Florida legislature passed the convention bill unani- 
mously. The convention to meet January 3d. 

Banks in Georgia generally suspended specie payment. 

Innnense secession meeting at Memphis, Tennessee. 
Resolutions were passed, calling upon the Governor to 
convene the legislature, directing that a State convention 
be called, and telling the Southern States that Tennessee 
would stand by the action of the Southern convention for 
weal or woe. To show the state of feeling at the South, 
we copy portions of an extract from a letter written by 
Brigadier General Semmes, a graduate of West Point, in 
acknowledgment of the high honor conferred upon him ; 
having been appointed to the command of the military 
department of Columbus, Ga. He says : — 

" Southerners have" a high and sacred duty to perform, 
and know well how to perform that duty. ' He who dal- 
lies is a dastard ; he who douljts is damned ;' and he who 
cries peace, union, when there is no peace, no union, and 
never can be, with a fanatic and infidel people w^ho repu- 
diate God and the Bible, deserves everlasting execration. 
I rejoice at the dawning of the day which is to separate 
us, I trust forever, from such a people, — a people who, 
folding the arms of the federal government around the 
South, stand behind filching from their pockets, — a peo- 
ple who, through the operations of federal law, rob the 
South annually of one hundred and five millions of dol- 
lars. No wonder they love ' the Union,' — the ' glorious 
Union.' It enriches them, by robbing us. Eternal hos- 
tility, say I, to such people, and rebellion to their accursed 
federal misrule. Separated from them they are impotent 
to harm us. Their voices, their bauds (in our pockets) 



84 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

we dread ; their bayonets, themselves, we despise. Let a 
united South rally and strike down this God-forsaken 
Union with robbers, fanatics, incendiaries, assassins, infi- 
dels. Southrons, arise ! Buckle on your armor ; trust 
in God and strike for independence. His right arm will 

support yoa. ^o- i n -n t -^ 

(Signed.) Paul J. bEMMES. 

Rev. P. N. Lynch, Catholic Bishop of Charleston, 
declined to go to the South Carolina convention, and 
withdrew his name from the list of candidates. He said, 
" There is another sphere in which I can more appropri- 
ately, and perhaps with equal efficiency, serve our State. 
In that sphere I trust I shall not be found wanting in my 
devotion to her interests, in weal or woe." 

December 3. Preamble and resolutions adopted in 
the Georgia legislature, proposing a conference of the 
Southern States at Atlanta, on the 20th of February, to 
counsel and advise as to the mode and manner of resist- 
ance to the North in the existing exigency. The pre- 
amble and resolutions took strong grounds in favor of 
having all sectional questions finally settled, and objected 
to separate action. 

Congress met at Washington, — President Buchanan's 
message read to both Houses, and transmitted to the 
South. It was conservative in its general character, and 
created but little remark, except with some few leading- 
politicians. It did not please the extremists on either 
side. The following fiery declaration of Governor Wise, , 
of Virginia, will define his position, and show in what 
light he regarded the President's message. 

A gentleman writing from Williamsburg, Va., Dec. 4, 
1860, says : " Meeting Governor Wise to-day, I took 
occasion to ascertain his opinion upon the latest phase 
of the sectional difficulties. The Governor says he 
regards the President's message as the most damning 
production that ever came from the pen of any Presi- 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 85 

dent ; that he (Wise) is prepared to maintain, to the last 
extremity, the right of any State to secede ; but, while 
maintaining the right, he disagrees with South Carolina 
as to the policy. He is in favor of revolution, — of fight- 
ing in the Union, and of maintaining the rights of the 
South in the Union. lie can ' wake up ' twenty thousand 
men who will fight to the death for their rights under the 
Constitution in the Union, easier than he can one thou- 
sand to fight the Union outside. He would seize upon 
the forts and arsenals within the State, and never give 
them up until guarantees from the North are obtained 
that shall be satisfactory to the Southern States ; but he 
declared that if Virginia shall not now insist upon her 
rights, either in the Union or out of it, so help him God, 
from that day he will be an emancipationist. He will not 
consent longer to be the owner of slaves, and allow his 
rights, as such, under the Constitution, to be set at defi- 
ance. Whenever a convention shall be called he will 
again take the field to secure the election of delegates 
who will carry out his mode of action. He wants no 
national convention and no compromises. War to the 
knife is his policy, until justice shall be accorded." 

The same correspondent gives as his opinion, from all 
he had been able to learn, though a singular fact, and 
illustrative of how much the politicians have had to do 
in getting up the disunion feeling which prevails in Vir- 
ginia, that, as a general rule, the largest owners of slaves 
are the most conservative and strongest Union men. It 
is the men who have the least material interest in the 
security of slave property who are the disunionists of 
Virginia, — who are in favor of disrupting all the tics 
which bind us to the Union, without waiting for an overt 
act on the part of the President elect. 

December 6. The legislature of South Carolina passed 
a bill to place the State upon a war footing. It author- 
ized the government to call into service ten thousand 



86 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



volunteers. During the discussion in the legislature, 
Mr. Rhett said there had been for several years in 
Charleston eight of the largest size Paixhan guns, wliich 
might, perhaps, be used in taking the forts. 

Mr. Marshall said the State had 382 infantry compa- 
nies, 50 cavalry, 18 artillery and 62 rifle companies, — 
making 121 battalions, 56 regiments, 14 brigades, and 5 
divisions. Mr. McGowan said the total military force 
was 65,000. 

December 7. A circular was issued inviting the mem- 
bers of the Texas legislature to assemble in Austin, on 
the third Monday in December, for the purpose of hold- 
ing an extra session, and to take the necessary steps for 
calling a State convention. Governor Houston declared 
his intention to resign, if the people of the State de- 
manded the convoking of the legislature. This step, 
together with the unremitting exertions of the Governor 
to smother ilvd flame of disunion, which had sprung up 
in the breasts of the jjeople of Texas, rendered him very 
unpopular. Lono star flags were hoisted in many of the 
towns in Texas ; and the people throughout the State 
appeared to be united in their feeling of resistance to the 
administration of Mr. Lincoln. We are permitted to 
make an extract from a letter received by a gentleman in 
New York, from a friend in Texas, a planter. He says, 
" Upon this subject our minds are deliberately, fully and 
unalterably made up. "We are for secession, disunion, 
civil war, pestilence, loss of property, of life, or anything 
you can imagine, rather than submit to the rule of Lin- 
coln, elected as he was by a purely sectional vote, and 
pledged as he is to a course of policy so ruinous to the 
South. The ' Lone Star ' is flying in every direction, and 
there seems to be a settled determination not to submit." 

December 8. The Kentucky banks resolved to con- 
tinue specie payment, as a suspension could afford no 
commercial relief. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 87 



December 9. Governor Brown, of Georgia, published 
a long letter, favoring immediate secession. 

December 10. An extra session of tlie Louisiana legis- 
lature convened at Baton Rouge. The message of Gov- 
ernor Moore was read. It recommended the immediate 
action of Louisiana, before the inauguration of Lhicoln ; 
that a conference of slave States be held ; it asserts the 
right of secession, and asks half a million of dollars 
to establish a military board, to buy and distribute 
arms. 

December 11. The military bill passed both houses, 
appropriating half a million to arm the State for defence, 
and for establishing military depots. Also a bill provid- 
ing for the election of delegates to the State convention, 
to be held at Baton Rouge, on the twenty-third of Jan- 
uary, passed both houses. 

Legislature adjourned on the 12th sine die. 
December 12. The Sixteenth Regiment of South Car- 
olina Militia mustered at Charleston, six hundred strong. 
Their strange appearance at that time provoked a good 
deal of comment. 

A paragraph in the Charleston Mercury says " that the 
repeal of the Northern personal liberty bills will have no 
effect on South Carolina to keep her in the Union ; that, 
so far as the cotton States are concerned, these laws, 
excepting the insult they convey to the South and the 
faithlessness they indicate in the North, are not of the 
slightest consequence. 

December 15. From the Galveston (Texas) News, we 
learn that miUtary preparations were going on rapidly in 
all parts of the State, companies of " minute-men " were 
forming in all the southern and eastern counties, organ- 
izing, arming, and drilling were progressing, and the 
wildest enthusiasm prevailed, so much so, that ministers 
of the gospel forgot their high calling, or their " occupa- 
tion was gone,'' as we find on the list of recruiting officers 



88 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

the name of Rev. R. W. Peirce, and that a company of 
sixty-five minute-men was enrolled in the cause of 
" treason " in consequence of an enthusiastic address by 
the Rev. Mr. Wilson ; also, on the 80th of November, 
says the " News," a regiment of mounted riflemen, two 
hundred strong, paraded under the command of the Rev. 
James C. Wilson. The parade was witnessed by a large 
assemblage, including a host of ladies. At eleven a. m., 
the " minute-men " formed on the Plaza, around the lib- 
erty-pole, from which the Lone Star flag floated. The 
regiment was organized by the election of field and staff 
officers ; the Rev. James C. Wilson chosen Colonel. The 
warmest military feeling was manifested. While Henry 
Ward Beecher and others, under the garb of Christianity, 
advocate disunion, and excite men to discord and strife 
on the " field of argument," these Rev. gentlemen band 
together to carry out treason's plot on the "field of 
battle." 

December 17. The South Carolina convention met at 
Columbia, in the new and commodious church of the 
Baptist congregation. The galleries and seats on the 
floor reserved for spectators were densely crowded. The 
church was fitted up with every convenience for dispatch- 
ing the business of tlie convention. 

A banner was suspended over the pulpit, presenting to 
the audience the inscription, " South Carolina Conven- 
tion of 1860 ; " on its reverse were inscribed the following 
passages from the sacred Scriptures : " God is our refuge 
and strength — a very present help in trouble ; therefore 
will we not fear, though the earth be removed, though 
the mountains be carried into the sea. The Lord of 
Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge." Fran- 
cis W. Pickens was inaugurated Governor of South Caro- 
lina, before the legislature, the convention, and an im- 
mense concourse of citizens. The convention was organ- 
ized and General Jamison elected President, when a 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 89 

motion was made to adjourn to Charleston, owing to the 
prevalence of small-pox at Columbia. 

Mr. Miles spoke earnestly, and at some length, against 
removal to any other point, until the ordinance of seces- 
sion was ^passed ; he says, " I think every question is sub- 
sidiary to this great and important matter of withdrawing 
the State of South Carolina from the Union ; such a step, 
should we previously adjourn, would disconcert our 
friends and gladden our enemies. We would be sneered 
at. It would be asked on all sides, Is this the chivalry of 
South Carolina ? They are prepared to face the world, 
but they run away from the small-pox. I am jnst from 
"Washington, where I have been in continual conference 
with our friends. The last thing urged on me by our friends 
from the slave States was, take South Carolina out of the 
Union the instant you can. Now, Sir, when the news 
reaches Washington that we met here, that a panic arose 
about a few cases of small-pox in the city, and that we 
forthwith scampered off to Charleston, the effect would 
be ludicrous." 

Mr. Carroll recommended that the delegates be vacci- 
nated. If every member of the convention would resort 
to vaccination, there would be no danger, and in ten days 
time nothing would be heard of the small-pox. Yet, not- 
withstanding these arguments, the motion was carried, 
and they adjourned to Charleston.* 

The members of the convention and of the legislature 
on their arrival in Charleston were received with great 
rejoicing. A salute of fifteen guns was fired, for the 
fifteen slave States, by the Marion Artillery. A battalion 
of the State Cadets were also present. Major Stevens, com- 
manding the Cadets, addressed President Jamison of the 

*We perfectly agree with Mr. Miles in thinking the "effect would he 
ludicrous/' and cspcciulhj with Mr. Carroll. The idea of a "gallant band " 
of one hundred and sixty -nine men, going to be vaccinated, headed by the 
aforesaid gentleman, it would be ludicrous indeed. 



90 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

convention, saying that lie had brought the young Caro- 
linians, as represented by the Cadets, to do honor to the 
sovereignty of the State. General Jamison returned his 
acknowledgments, and said " the convention comes pre- 
pared to sign the ordinance which shall make the State 
free and independent." 

The convention assembled at Institute Hall. There 
were about one hundred and fifty delegates and about 
seven hundred spectators. 

The bill for arming the State of North Carolina passed 
the Senate at Haleigh, by a vote of 41 to 3. 

December 19. Committee appointed to draft a seces- 
sion ordinance : Messrs. John A. Ingliss, R. Barnwell 
Rliett, James Chesnut, Jr., James L. Orr, William Gregg, 
Mr. Duncan, and William M. Hutson. 

December 20. Mr. Ingliss reported the following or- 
dinance : — - 

" We, the people of South Carolina, in convention as- 
sembled, do declare and ordain that the ordinance 
adopted by us in convention on the 23d of May, 1788, 
whereby the Constitution of the United States was ratified, 
and all acts and parts of acts passed by the general as- 
sembly of this State, ratifying amendments to said Con- 
stitution, are hereby repealed ; and the union now existing 
between South Carolina and other States, under the name 
of the United States of America, is hereby dissolved." 

The secession ordinance passed unanimously, one hun- 
dred and sixty-nine members being present, at 1:^ P. M. 
The ordinance was ordered to be engrossed on parch- 
ment, signed by the members, and jjlaced in the archives 
of the State at Institute Hall. 

The news spread rapidly on the street, and a crowd 
collected, and there was immense cheering. 

The news of the secession of South Carolina created 
intense excitement and rejoicing in Georgia and Alabama. 

At a meeting of the city council of Augusta, Ga., in 



THE KEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 91 

" anticipation " of the passage of the secession ordinance 
by South Carolina, it was resolved by the city council of 
Augusta, that the person having in charge the bell com- 
monly known as ^^Big' Steve,''^ be instructed to have said 
bell struck or rung one hundred times, as soon as the 
news is received that the State of South Carolina has 
resumed her sovereignty. 

December 21. In "Wilmington, N. C, one hundred 
guns were fired in honor of the secession of South Caro- 
lina. 

At Portsmouth, Ya., fifteen guns were fired for the 
fifteen slave States. 

The " minute-men" of Norfolk, Va., met on the Stone 
Bridge, at one o'clock on the 21st, and fired a salute of 
fifteen guns in honor of South Carolina, and hoisted the 
" Palmetto flag." John Tyler, son of Ex-President Tyler, 
after the firing had ceased, mounted the gun and deliv- 
ered a strong secession speech. Many ladies of the city 
congregated to witness the salute, and joined in by wav- 
ing handkerchiefs. The following telegram was sent 
over the wires to the president of the Charleston conven- 
tion : — 

" The ' minute-men ' of Norfolk send greeting to 
South Carolina. With the glorious Palmetto flag thrown 
to the breeze, and floating over our heads, we have just 
fired fifteen guns in honor of the first step taken by that 
gallant State, and emblematic, we hope, of coming events. 
All honor and glory to the game-cock of the South. 

"Chaeles Harris, Chief of Minute-Men of Norfolk.^^ 

At Macon, Ga., the people were jubilant over the seces- 
sion of South Carolina. There was a grand procession of 
" minute-men," parading, and bonfires, bells ringing, 
cannon firing, and streets illuminated ; all served to 
heighten the excitement and manifest the joy of the 
people. 



92 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

At Montgomery one hundred guns were fired by order 
of Governor Moore, in honor of the secession of South 
Carolina. 

At Pensacola the news was greeted with immense 
enthusiasm. One hundred guns were fired in honor of 
the event. 

A dispatch from Mobile, Dec. 21, says : — 

" The secession of South Carolina was celebrated here, 
by the firing, this afternoon, of a hundred guns, the 
cheers of the people, and a military parade. There is 
great rejoicing. The bells are ringing merrily, and the 
people are out in the streets by hundreds, testifying their 
joy at the triumph of secession. Many impromptu 
speeches are being made, and the greatest excitement 
everywhere exists." 

There was an immense secession meeting at night, and 
" illuminations " in honor of South Carolina. 

In New Orleans there was a general demonstration of 
joy consequent upon the secession of South Carolina. 
One hundred guns were fired, and the " Pelican flag " 
unfurled. Impromptu speeches were made by many of 
the leading citizens. 

On the 21st, in Charleston, there was a grand proces- 
sion of " minute-men," to celebrate the passage of the 
secession ordinance. Several thousand citizens, strangers, 
firemen, and military were in line, with music, banners, 
transparencies, and reflectors. The procession formed in 
front of Secession Hall, and proceeded to the Mills 
House, to serenade Governor Pickens, and subsequently 
to Wm. D. Porcher, President of the Senate, General 
Simmons, Speaker of the House, General Jamison, Pres- 
ident of the Convention, and Mayor Macbeth, who 
acknowledged their thanks and compliments. The flag- 
borne in front of the procession was that which Captain 
Berry, of the steamship Columbia, hoisted off" Governor's 
Island. The city was alive with pleasurable excitement, 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 93 

and a number of residences, newspaper establishments, 
and other jmblic buildings were illuminated. 

The convention met at noon. Prayer was offered, in 
the course of which God was invoked to unite the people 
of the South in the formation of a " Southern Confed- 
eracy," and to bless the new-born State. 

Lieutenants Dazier and Hamilton, also several midship- 
men, Carolinians, resigned their commissions in the navy. 

December 22. At Petersburg, Va., a secession pole, 
one hundred feet high, with the "Palmetto flag," was 
hoisted on the most prominent street, amid the cheers of 
a large crowd. The pole was sawed down the next morn- 
ing before the dawn of day, by an unknown party, and 
the flag carried off. Great excitement jDrevailed in conse- 
quence. 

December 24. Agreeably to the ordinance of seces- 
sion, Governor Pickens issued an address, proclaiming to 
the world that South Carolina is and has a right to be a 
separate, sovereign, free, and independent State, and as 
such has a right to levy war, conclude peace, negotiate 
treaties, leagues, or covenants, and do all acts Avhatever 
that rightly appertain to a free and independent State. 

An immense secession meeting was held at Ashland 
Hall, Norfolk, Va. Disunion speeches were delivered by 
Col. V. D. Grover and General John Tyler. The 
speakers were enthusiastically applauded. General Ty- 
ler concluded with the expression, '■'•Let the Union go to 
hell^'' which was received with loud and repeated cheers. 

The Methodist Conference of South Carolina passed 
resolutions favoring secession. 

The special commissioners appointed by the South Car- 
olina convention to negotiate for government property, 
and form a treaty of amity and commerce with the 
United States, leave Charleston for Washington. 

An immense mass meeting was held in New Orleans, 
to ratify the nomination of the " Southern Rights " can- 



94 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

didates for the convention. The Southern Marsellaise 
was sung, as the banner of the Southern Coirfederacy was 
raised, amid reiterated and prolonged cheers for South 
Carolina and Louisiana. 

December 26. A resolution offered in the South Caro- 
lina convention, that the Governor be requested to com- 
municate to the convention in " secret session," any 
information he possesses in reference to the condition of 
Forts Moultrie and Sumter, and Castle Pinckney, — the 
number of guns in each, the number of workmen and 
kind of labor employed, the number of soldiers in each, 
and what additions, if any, have been made since the 
20th inst. ; also, if any assurance has been given that the 
forts will not be reinforced, and if so, to what extent ; 
also, what police or other regulations have been made, if 
any, in reference to the defences of the harbor of Charles- 
ton, the coast and State. 

Major Anderson transferred the United States garrison 
at Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, leaving only a small 
guard in Fort Moultrie. 

Only one short week had passed since the signing of 
the "secession ordinance," and the joyous excitement 
conseqent thereupon had scarcely begun to subside, when 
the city was startled with the intelligence of the evacua- 
tion of Fort Moultrie. 

The wildest excitement seized the people, and in the 
fire of their indignation they denounced Major Anderson 
in the most bitter terms, and their rage knew no bounds 
at this, what they deemed, overt act on the part of the 
gallant commander. The military were ordered out, and 
the convention went into " secret session." Troops were 
tendered to the Governor from different portions of Car- 
olina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. 

December 28. The " Palmetto flag " was raised over 
the Custom House and Post-office at Charleston, S. C. 

At five o'clock in the evening the " Palmetto flag " 



THE -REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. . 95 

was raised at Castle Pinckney, and a military force went 
over and took possession of Fort Moultrie. 

Castle Pinckney and Fort Moultrie were held by about 
twelve men, who peaceably surrendered to the State 
troops. 

The " Federal flag " was saluted with thirty-two guns 
as it descended, and the " Palmetto flag " with one gun 
as it was run up. 

A large and enthusiastic secession meeting was held at 
Richmond, Va. 

One hundred guns were fired in Wilmington, N. C, on 
the twenty-eighth, over the secession of South Carolina, 
and we are informed that, in less than twenty minutes 
after the firing commenced, every vessel in port, with the 
exception of one, run up the " stars and stripes." 

In a Troy, N. Y., paper we find a letter, dated Decem- 
ber 28, from General Wool, stating that the " Waterveliet 
Arsenal " was exclusively under the jurisdiction of the 
Secretary of War, and that on the ninth of that month 
(December) ten thousand muskets were sold, by order 
of Secretary Floyd, to S. B. Lamar, of Savannah, Geor- 
gia, and were shipped from the arsenal on the fourteenth 
inst. The price was two dollars and a half for each 
musket. 

An immense Union meeting was held at Memphis, 
Tenn. It was addressed by Hon. Neil S. Brown, and 
others. 

Governor Hicks again refused to convene the legisla- 
ture of Maryland. 

In reply to a friendly letter from Capt. John Contee, of 
Prince George's County, urging him to call an extra ses- 
sion of the legislature, he says : — 

" I have no party attachments or prejudices that con- 
flict with my love for the Union, or that can influence me 
in the endeavor to discharge my duty faithfully to my native 
State. I have long since decided to put aside party feel- 



96 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

ings and prejudices, and do everything in my power to 
preserve and perpetuate the Union of the States and the 
happiness of milhons depending upon it. 

" We cannot shut our eyes to the fearful peril of the 
hour. We know that a dark cloud overshadows the land, 
threatening the destruction of the institutions we have 
been taught to revere, and under which we have grown 
to be a great nation. We know that reckless and design- 
ing men are endeavoring to precipitate a dissolution of the 
Union before the people shall have time for the reflection 
so imperatively demanded by the vast interests involved 
in the threatened separation, whether that separation shall 
be peaceful or bloody. There must be time to weigh well 
all the consequences before we proceed to destroy the gov- 
ernment bequeathed to us by our fathers ; and we should 
wait to see if there is not still enough wisdom, virtue, 
and patriotism in Congress and the country, to give the 
people time for the ' sober second thought.' 

" It seems to me, from the hot haste with which some 
of the Southern States are pressing a dissolution, that 
their leading men appear to act deliberately, believing 
that the people would not sustain them in their reckless 
course if they had time to weigh the consequences, nor 
act without one more appeal to the people of the North. 
Does it not seem strange that we have only now realized 
the great wrong done the Southern States by the personal 
liberty bills enacted by the North ? We know that these 
laws have been upon the statute-books of many of these 
States for years, and that until now they have never been 
considered a sufficient cause to justify the South in dis- 
solving the Union." 

After expressing the wish that these personal liberty 
laws might be repealed at once, and the rights of the 
South, guaranteed by the Constitution, respected and 
enforced, he closes by saying : — 

" Tlie time has indeed come when we must all look the 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 97 

danger full in the face ; when patriotism, the memories of 
the past, and the hopes of the future, imperatively demand 
that we should use every exertion compatible with honor 
to prevent the United States of America from disappear- 
ing from among the nations of the world. 

" I shall be the last one to object to a withdrawal of 
our State from a confederacy that denies to us the enjoy- 
ment of our undoubted rights ; but believing that neither 
her honor or her interests will suffer by a proper and just 
delay, I cannot assist in placmg her in a position from 
which we may hereafter wish to recede. But I assure 
you that whenever, in my judgment, the necessity for 
assembling that body in ' extra session' shall arise, I 
shall not shrink from the responsibility. 

" I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 

^'Thomas W. Hicks." 

3 



CHAPTER VI. 

Not a protest I heeded, nor Cass's note. 

As my couutiy to ruin I hurried ; 
Whilst Floyd discharged his farewell shot 

O'er the grave where the Union I buried. 

Buchanan. 

December 29. Secretary Floyd resigned. 

December 30. Sunday. South Carolina troops took 
possession of the arsenal at Charleston ; military prep- 
arations were actively progressing ; volunteers were of- 
fering their services from other States, among whom were 
many army and navy officers. Colonel Waker Gwynn, 
a graduate of "West Point, and an old United States army 
officer, accepted the command of a military company in 
Columbia, S. C. 

Shipment of arms to the South. 

The steamship Montgomery, which arrived at Savannah 
on the 26th of November, had on board 180 boxes of 
Sharp's patent carbines, 1,800 in all, and 40,000 conical 
ball cartridges, for the State of Georgia. 

The Baton Rouge (La.) Gazette states that a telegram 
was received at the arsenal there, from the war depart- 
ment at Wasliington, on the 22d of December, ordering 
the sale of two thousand five hundred guns, for $2.50 
each, to Governor Pettus, of Mississippi. 

On the twenty-eighth of December we find there were 
sent, by order of Secretary Floyd, from the Alleghany Arse- 
nal to Ship Island, near the Balize, mouth of Mississippi, — 

21 ten-inch columbiads, 128 pounders. 

21 eight-inch " 64 " 

4 iron guns, 32 " 

98 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



99 



To Newport, near Galveston Island, Texas, — 

23 ten-inch columbiads, 128 pounders. 

48 eight-inch " 64 " 

7 iron guns, 32 " 

In all, one hundred and twenty-four guns, one broadside 
of which would throw five tons of balls. 

Floyd did a lively business in treason all around. 

The superintendent of the Springfield, Mass., armory, 
received an order from Secretary Floyd to deliver to 
Major Thornton, of the army, having charge of the mili- 
tary stores in New York, twenty thousand muskets, as 
condemned ordnance stores, and to be sold. They were 
sold to the State of Virginia for two and a half dollars 
each ; which cost the government twelve dollars each. 

Twenty-six mounted field-pieces from the " Watervliet 
Arsenal" were forwarded to South Carolina, January 3d. 

During the year 1860, there was removed from the 
Springfield (Mass.) armory, and deposited in other arse- 
nals of the United States, 135,430 government arms, as 
follows : — 

Texas Arsenal ...... 500 



Charleston, S. C. . 
Mount Vernon, Ala. 
Augusta, Ga. 
Fayette ville, N. C. 
Baton Rouge, La. . 
Benicia, Cal. 
St. Louis, Mo. 
New York, (sold South) 



15,000 
15,000 
20,000 
25,000 
30,000 
7,000 
2,530 
20,400 



135,430 
Thus it will be seen that from the Springfield armory 
alone there had been sent to the points where treason 
had made its appointments, 128,000 muskets, and not a 
single musket to any United States arsenal in a Northern 
State, except 20,000 to New York. These, like those from 



100 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Troy, were not to remain in New York, but were sold to 
the traitors for the paltry sum of two dollars and a half 
each. 

This removal of arms was entirely " independent " of 
the supply which the government sends, as the regular 
quota, to the different States, aside from this, that was 
going on as usual. Here we see the treason of Floyd 
developing itself. It was impossible for him longer to 
conceal hisvillany, and when the people demurred, he re- 
sorted to stratagem to quiet their fears, until he could ac- 
complish his purpose. If anything was needed to rouse 
our people to the frightful treachery over which they-had 
been sleeping, this should have been sufficient. AVhen, 
if they started in their slumbers or began to rouse from 
their lethargy, and asked why was this vast movement of 
arms, almost simultaneously, from so many diiferent 
points, and at a time too when the cry of secession, civil 
war and bloodshed was wafted to us from the South on 
every returning breeze, they were answered, " It is only 
the ' regular quota ' which the general government ap- 
propriates yearly to the several States. The Southern 
States, not having as many volunteer companies and mili- 
tia as Northern States, have not called for their share 
until now, and it has been credited to them year after 
year, which accounts for the large number which they 
receive at this time." 

Some little excitement was caused in New York by 
the heavy shipment of arms South from the arsenal at 
Troy, and it was intimated that the arms were to be used 
for hostile purposes by the secessionists. They, the peo- 
ple, were told that the rumor in the latter respect was 
entirely without any truth ; that no feai's need be enter- 
tamed of hostility ; that the arms alluded to were man- 
ufactured at the United States arsenal at Troy, for the 
State militia of Georgia, in accordance with an order is- 
sued in May previous ; that a similar order for the State 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 101 

of South Carolina was fulfilled about the same time ; 
that these " shipment " were not at all unusual, as 
during the past summer months one hundred and twenty- 
five thousand stands of arms were sent to the five cotton 
States, in accordance with the requisition of the Secre- 
tary of War. 

When the people of Pittsburg, Pa., arose m their in- 
dignation and resolved to oppose by force the removal 
of the heavy guns from the " Alleghany Arsenal," they 
were quietly informed that " the manufacturer con- 
tracted to deliver them at certain points where requisition 
was made, and any opposition or restraint in their delivery 
by citizens would inure to the injury of the contractor 
only, should the service suffer by delay ; that the appro- 
priation for the purchase of the cannon was long since 
made for the defensive works at those points, and the 
order for their removal thither was in accordance with 
law and regulation, without any reference whatever to 
political occurrences." 

Thus, with these and all sorts of excuses, the people 
were lulled to rest, until the " war-note " sounded from 
the walls of " Sumter " which awoke them to the fearful 
reality. And if ever man is punished for the robbery of 
a nation's treasury, it should be that same John B. Floyd 
of Virginia, who leaves the earmarks of fraud through- 
out his whole administrative career. 

January 1st. South Carohna convention passed an 
ordinance to define and punish treason ; that levying war 
against the State, aiding her enemies, etc., be punished 
by death. Oh, consistency, thou art a jewel ! The con- 
vention was opened with prayer, by the Rev. Mr. Dupree. 
The following is a quotation from the appeal : — 

" God, wilt thou bring confusion and discomfiture 
upon our enemies, and wilt thou strengthen the hearts 
and. nerves and arms of our sons to meet this great fire 
in the name of the God of Israel." 

9* 



102 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



Immediately fronting the president was a bust of John C. 
Calhoun in white marble, with this inscription on paper : 

" Truth, Justice and Fraternity, you have written your 
name in the book of life ; fill up the page with delibera- 
tion ; that written, execute quickly. The storm is from 
the North. The day is far spent and the night is at hand. 
Our homes and honor summon the citizens to appear on 
the parade-ground for inspection." 

A correspondent writes : 

" The ' Palmetto Guards,' one hundred strong, are 
guarding the arsenal, under the ' Palmetto Flag,' instead 
of the stars and stripes.' " 

The flag adopted by South Carolina is a red ground, 
with a marine blue cross, on which are fifteen white stars, 
a large one in the centre, a white palmetto tree and cres- 
cent on the upper right-hand corner, next to the staff, the 
corner spaces all of red. 

The chair, the table, the pens, and the inkstand used 
on the memorable night of signing the ordinance of 
secession, were ordered to be reverentially placed in the 
State at Columbia, and sacredly preserved for jjosterity 
to see. 

January 2. Forts Pulaski and Jackson, and the Uni- 
ted States arsenal at Savannah, were seized by Georgia 
State troops. 

Fort Macon and the United States arsenal at Fayette- 
ville were seized by North Carolma State troops, by order 
of Governor Ellis. 

Military operations in Charleston were very active, and 
every point of importance was fully manned. 

A censorship was exercised over the telegraph, and the 
city was nightly patrolled by the military. 

It was proposed to starve out Major Anderson and his 
brave little band, and then attack them on rafts, with the 
aid of the batteries already erected. 

The South Carolina commissioners, at Washington, 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 103 

received a telegram from Governor Pickens, saying, 
" that he was notified of the departure of the revenue 
cutter Harriet Lane for Fort Sumter, with sealed dis- 
patches from Washington, but that she could not come 
over the bar except under the ivhite flag ; otherwise, she 
would be fired into by the South Carolina troops." 

January 3. Florida State convention assembled at 
Tallahassee. 

January 4. Fort Morgan and the United States ar- 
senal at Mobile were seized by Alabama State troops. 
The arsenal contained six stand of arms, 1,600 barrels 
of powder, 300,000 rounds of musket cartridges, and 
other munitions of war. There was no defence. 

January 5. South Carolina convention adjourned, 
subject to the call of the Governor. 

Governor Pickens received a telegram from the mayor 
of New Orleans, pledging that city to support Charleston 
when the time for action arrived. 

January 7. Alabama convention met at Montgomery. 

The Governor of Virginia, in a message to the State 
legislature, condemned the hasty course of South Caro- 
Ima, but opposed federal coercion. 

The Mississippi convention met at Jackson. 

Major Anderson's removal to Fort Sumter sustamed 
by the United States House of Representatives. 

January 8. Forts Johnson and Caswell, at Smithville, 
were seized by North Carolina. 

At Washington, Jacob Thompson, Secretary of the 
Interior, called upon the President to know whether rein- 
forcements had been sent to Major Anderson. The Presi- 
dent at once informed him that the steamer " Star of the 
West" had been chartered, and was on her way to 
Charleston, with two hundred and fifty United States 
troops. 

Later in the day, at a meeting of the cabinet, Secre- 
tary Thompson demanded of Secretary Holt to know if 



104 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

it was true that two hundred and fifty regulars had been 
dispatched from New York to reinforce Major Ander- 
son. 

Mr. Holt refused to answer the question, on the ground 
that Mr. Thompson had announced that he should resign 
when Mississippi decided to go out of the Union, and as 
she had, according to the latest reports, so decided, he 
was of the opinion that Mr. Thompson was the last man 
in the world to be informed of the detail of operations 
of the War Department. 

Secretary Thompson then telegraphed Judge Long- 
street, at Charleston, that troops had been ordered to 
reinforce Major Anderson, and immediately resigned liis 
seat in the cabinet. 

Three days previous, Mr. Toucey, Secretary of the 
Navy (although previously urging the reinforcement of 
Major Anderson), now, in company with Secretary 
Thompson, called upon the President, and informed him 
that he had heard of the movement of troops in New 
York, and that he wished to know the facts. The imbe- 
cile President stated that if any such orders had been 
given, he would have them revoked. He accordingly 
authorized the Secretary of War to telegraph the com- 
mander of the " Star of the West " to land the troops at 
Norfolk, or Fort Monroe, and not to go to Charleston ; 
but the vessel had departed before the dispatch reached 
there. 

The most intense excitement prevailed among the 
senators and representatives from the gulf and cotton 
States. They regarded the reinforcement of Major An- 
derson as a declaration of war, and telegraphed the 
Charlestonians to sink the vessel, if possible, before she 
landed her cargo. 

Lieut. Chapman and Master Mills, of the ship Brook- 
lyn, resigned. 

National salutes were fired in honor of the battle of 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 105 

New Orleans and the bravery of Major Anderson, in 
nearly all the principal towns and cities of the Northern 
States. 

January 9. The " Star of the "West," bearing rein- 
forcements for Major Anderson, was fired into in Charles- 
ton harbor. The ship immediateli/ displayed the " stars 
and stripes." As soon as the flag was unfurled the forti- 
fications fired a succession of heavy shots. The vessel 
continued on her course with increased speed, but finding 
it impossible to reach the fort without heavy loss, con- 
cluded to retire, and put about and went to sea, the bat- 
teries still firing upon her until their shot fell short. 
Only hoo out of seventeen shots took effect upon her. 

Lieut. Hall was then dispatched by Major Anderson to 
Governor Pickens, to know whether the authorities of 
Charleston authorized the firing. Upon learning from 
Governor Pickens that the act was justified by him, and 
also that his (xinderson's) position in the harbor had 
onl^ been " tolerated," — that it was only by forbearance 
that the State had so long permitted him to remain 
there, — Major Anderson deemed it proper to refer the 
matter to his government ; therefore signified to Gov- 
ernor Pickens his intention of deferring all further action 
in the case until he should receive instructions from 
Washington, and expressed the hope that no obstructions 
would be placed in the way, and that he, the Governor, 
would give every facility for the safe departure and 
return of Lieut. T. Talbot, as " bearer of dispatches "'to 
the President of the United States ; which was granted, 
»and Lieut. Talbot left Charleston late the same evening 
for Washington. 

The Mississippi State convention passed an ordinance 
of secession. Great illumination at night ; guns were 
fired and fireworks let off in honor of the event. 

January 10. South Carolina took possession of the 
steamship Marion, to be used in the service of the State, 



106 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES, 

by the Governor's orders, but afterwards returned her to 
the owners, Carolina paying damages. 

The Florida convention passed an ordinance of seces- 
sion. 

Fort McRae, at Pensacola, -was seized by Florida. 

January 11. Alabama State convention adopted an 
ordinance of secession, 61 to 39. After the adoption of 
the ordmance of secession by Alabama, the doors of the 
hall "were opened to visitors, and a splendid flag, pre- 
sented by the ladies of Alabama, was conveyed to the 
president's stand, and formally presented to the conven- 
tion. It was immediately raised over the Capitol, amidst 
the ringing of bells, the firing of cannon, and the cheer- 
ing of the people. Tlie most intense enthusiasm pre- 
vailed. 

Judge Jones, of the United States District Court, for 
the Southern District of Alabama, declared the court 
" adjourned forever." 

The United States arsenal at Baton Rouge, and Forts 
Pike, St. Phillip and Jackson, were seized by Louisiana 
State troops, without resistance. 

Major Haskins, with two companies, refused to surren- 
der the Baton Rouge arsenal ; but, being surrounded by 
six hundred men, he surrendered, as the " better part of 
valor." The excitement at New Orleans was very great. 

Grand banquet given to John B. Floyd, at Richmond, 
Ya., at which the following sentiment was given : — " The 
Hon. John B. Floyd, the icorthy son of a ' noble sire.' 
All honor to the Virginian who spurns the trappings of a 
federal place, respects a mother's rights, and resents a 
mother's wrongs." (Music, and three cheers for Floyd.) 

January 12th. Fort San Carlos de Barrancas and the 
navy yard at Pensacola were seized by Florida troops. 

Lieut. Slemmer, in command of Fort Pickens, refused 
to surrender that fort. The following letter to the Flori- 
da commissioner is brief and to the point : — 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 107 

"Fort Pickens, Pensacola HaeboIi, January 16, 1861. 

" Col. William H. Chase, Commissioner for the State of 
Florida : — 

" Sir, — Under the orders we now have from the War 
Department, we have decided, after consultation with the 
government officers in the harbor, that it is our duty to 
hold our position until such force is brought against us 
as to render it impossible to defend it ; or until the polit- 
ical condition of the country is such as to induce us to 
surrender the public property in our keeping to such 
authorities as may be delegated legally to receive it. 
We deprecate, as much as you or any individual can, the 
present condition of affairs, or the shedding of the blood 
of our brethren. In regard to this matter, however, we 
must consider you the aggressors, and, if blood should 
be shed, that you are responsible therefor. 

" Signed, by order of A. J. Slemmer, First Lieut. First 
Artillery, commanding, 

" J. H. Oilman, Second Lieut. Artillery, 
Acting Post Adjutant of Post." 

January 16th. Colonel Hayne, in the name of Gover- 
nor Pickens, demanded the surrender of Fort Sumter. 

The people of South Carolina demanded of Major An- 
derson the immediate surrender of Fort Sumter, and 
notified him that they intended to take it, " cost what it 
would." Major Anderson informed them that he had no 
authority to act otherwise than to defend himself. He 
was willing, however, to refer the subject to the govern- 
ment, and that the President could take such action as he 
deemed proper. 

Accordingly, Colonel Hayne was dispatched to Washing- 
ton, and demanded of the President the immediate removal 
of Major Anderson and his forces from Fort Sumter, as 
the only means of preventing war and its long train of 
calamities. He informed the President that South Caro- 



108 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

lina " was determined to take it at all hazards," and that, 
to avoid bloodshed, he had been authorized to negotiate 
for its purchase, and also of other public property in 
South Carolina ; but if the President refused to enter into 
negotiation, and declined to give it up to the State, then 
they are " determined to take it," let what will come ; 
that the " stars and stripes " that wave over Sumter must 
come doivn, — if not peaceably, then forcibly. 

The President refused to receive liim in any official 
capacity. 

January 17th. South Carolina voted to organize the 
nucleus of a standing army. 

• January I8th. Virginia legislature appropriated one 
million dollars for the defence of the State. 

January 19th. State convention of Georgia adopted 
an ordinance of secession, 208 to 89. Alexander H. 
Stephens and Herschcl V. Johnson voted in the negative. 
Tennessee legislature called a State convention. 

January 23d. Mr. Etheridge, of Temiessee, in a speech 
in Congress, declared secession to be " rebellion," and 
should be put down at any cost. 

January 24th. The United States arsenal at Augusta, 
Georgia, was surrendered to Governor Brown. 

January 26th. The Louisiana State convention adopt- 
ed an ordinance of secession, 113 to 17. 

January 28tli. Texas State convention met at Austin. 

January 30th. Revenue cutters Cass, Captain J. J. 
Morrison, and McClelland, Captain Breshwood, surren- 
dered to the Louisiana authorities by their commanders. 

The United States Branch Mint and Custom House at 
New Orleans were seized by the State authorities. 

February 1st. The Texas convention passed a seces- 
sion ordinance, subject to ratification by the people. 

February 4th. The rebel delegates met at Montgom- 
ery, Alabama, to organize a confederate government. 
Howell Cobb was chosen chairman. 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 109 

February 8th. Col. Hayne, commissioner from South 
Carolina, unable to get recognition, finally left Washing- 
ton. 

Governor Brown, of Georgia, seized New York ships 
in the harbor of Savannah, in retaliation for the seizure 
of arms in New York. The ships were released on the 
tenth. 

The Montgomery convention agreed to a constitution and 
provisional government, and on the 9th elected Jefferson 
Davis President, and Alexander H. Stephens Vice-Presi- 
dent, of the " Southern Confederacy." Little Rock arse- 
nal surrendered to Arkansas. 

February 18th. Jefferson Da\ds was inaugurated Presi- 
dent of the Confederate States of America. 

February 19th. Fort Kearney, Kansas, taken by se- 
cessionists, but was soon after retaken by Unionists. 

February 21st. Jefferson Davis ap^^ointed his cabinet : 
— Robert Toombs, of Georgia, Secretary of State ; Charles 
G. Memminger, of South Carolina, Secretary of the 
Treasury, and L. P. Walker, Secretary of War. 

Governor Brown, of Georgia, made another seizure of 
vessels belonging to New York. 

February 22d. President Lincoln made the journey 
from Harrisburg to Washington in the night, in order to 
prevent an anticipated outrage in Baltimore. 

The iingover liable rashness of the rebels was, at this 
time, particularlij manifested in an attempt to assassinate 
the President on his way to Washington. The friends of 
Mr. Lincoln, having heard that a conspiracy existed to 
assassinate him, set on foot an investigation of the matter, 
and for this purpose employed a detective of great expe- 
rience, who was engaged at Baltimore in the business 
some three weeks prior to Mr. Lincoln's expected arrival 
there, employing both men and women to assist him. 
Soon after comino; to Baltimore the detective discovered 
a combination of men, banded together under a solemn 

10 



110 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

oath to assassinate the President elect. The leader of 
the conspirators was an Italian refugee, a barber, well 
known in Baltimore, who assumed the name of Orsini, as 
indicative of the part he was to perform. The assistants 
employed by the detective, who, like himself, were stran- 
gers in Baltimore city, by assuming to be secessionists 
from Louisiana and other seceding States, gained the con- 
fidence of some of the conspirators, and were entrusted 
with their plans. It was arranged, in case Mr. Lincoln 
should pass safely over the railroad to Baltimore, that the 
conspirators should mingle with the crowd which might 
surround his carriage, and by pretending to be his friends 
be enabled to approach his person, when, upon a signal 
from their leader, some of them would shoot at Mr. Lin- 
coln with their pistols, and others would throw into his 
carriage hand-grenades filled with detonating powder, 
similar to those used in the attempted assassination of the 
Emperor Louis Napoleon. It was intended that, in the 
confusion which should result from this attack, the assail- 
ants should escape to a vessel which was waiting in the 
harbor to receive tliem, and be carried to Mobile, in the 
seceding State of iVli^ljan^a. 

Upon Mr. Lincoln's arrival in Philadelphia, on Thurs- 
day, the 21st day of February, the detective visited Phila- 
delphia, and submitted to certain friends of the President 
elect the information he had collected relative to the con- 
spiracy. An interview was immediately arranged between 
Mr. Lincoln and the detective. The interview took place 
in Mr. Lincoln's room in the Continental Hotel, where he 
was staying during his visit in Philadelphia. Mr. Lin- 
coln, having heard the officer's statement, informed him 
that he had promised to raise the " American flag " on 
Independence Hall the next morning, the morning of the 
anniversary of Washington's birthday, and tliat he had 
accepted the invitati^i of the Pennsylvania legislature to 
be publicly received by that body in the afternoon of tlie 



THE REBELLION. IN THE UNITED STATES. Ill 

same day. " Both of these engagements," said he, with 
emphasis, " / will keep, if it costs me my life. If, however, 
after I have concluded these engagements, you can take me 
in safety to Washington, I will place m.yself at your dispo- 
sal, and authorize you to make such arrangements as you 
ma}' deem proper for that purpose." On the next day, in 
the morning, Mr. Lincoln performed the ceremony of rais- 
ing the flag on Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, accord- 
ing to his promise, and arrived at Harrisburg on the after- 
noon of the same day, where he was formally welcomed 
by the Pennsylvania legislature. After the reception he 
retired to his hotel, the Jones House, and withdrew with 
a few confidential friends to a private apartment. Here 
he remained until nearly six o'clock in the evening, when, 
in company with Colonel Lamon, he quietly entered a 
carriage, without observation, and was driven to the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, where a special train for Philadel- 
phia was waiting for him. Simultaneously with his de- 
parture from Harrisburg, the telegraph wires were cut, 
so that his departure, should it become known, could not 
be communicated to any place on the route. The special 
train arrived in Philadelphia at a quarter before eleven 
o'clock at night. Here he was met by the " detective," who 
had a carriage in readiness, into which the party entered 
and were driven to the depot of the Philadelphia, Wil- 
mington and Baltimore Bailroad. They did not reach the 
dejDot until a quarter past eleven ; but, fortunately for 
them, the regular train, the hour of which for starting 
was eleven, had been delayed. The party then took 
berths in the sleeping-car, and, without change of cars, 
passed directly through to Washington, where they ar- 
rived at the usual hour, half-past six, on the morning of 
Saturday, the 23d. Mr. Lincoln wore no disguise what- 
ever, but journeyed in an ordinary travelling suit. It is 
proper to state here, that, prior to Mr. Lincoln's arrival 
in Philadelpliia, General Scott and Mr. Seward, in Wash- 



112 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

ington, had been apprised from independent sources that 
imminent danger threatened Mr. Lincohi in case he 
should publicly pass through Baltimore, and accordingly 
a special messenger, Mr. Frederick "W. Seward, a son of 
Senator Seward, was dispatched to Philadelphia to urge 
Mr. Lincoln to come direct to Washington in aquiefc man- 
ner. The messenger arrived in Philadelphia late on 
Thursday night, and had an interview with the President 
elect immediately after his interview with the " detective." 
He was informed that Mr. Lincoln would arrive by the 
early train on Saturday morning ; and, in accordance 
with this information, Mr. Washburne, member of Con- 
gress from Illinois, awaited the President elect, at the 
depot in Washington, whence he was taken in a carriage 
to his quarters at Willard's Hotel, where Senator Seward 
stood ready to receive him. The detective travelled with 
Mr. Lincoln under the name of E. J. Allen, which was 
registered with the name of the President elect on the 
book at Willard's Hotel. Being a well-known individual, 
he was speedily recognized, and suspicion naturally arose 
that he had been " instrumental " in exposing* the plot 
which caused Mr. Lincoln's hurried journey, and thereby 
defeating the traitors in their murderous designs. It was 
deemed prudent that he should leave Washing'ton, two 
days after his arrival, though he had intended to remain 
and witness the ceremonies of the inauguration. The 
friends of Mr. Lincoln did not question the loyalty and 
hospitality of the people of Maryland, but they were 
aware that a few disaffected citizens, who sympathized 
warmly with the secessionists, were determined to frus- 
trate, at all hazards, the inauguration of the President 
elect, even at the cost of his life. The character^ and 
pursuits of the conspirators were various ; some of them 
were impelled by fanatical zeal which they termed " pat- 
riotism," and they justified their acts by the example of 
Bratus in ridding his country of a tyrant. One of them 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 113 

was accustomed to recite passages put into the mouth of 
the character of Brutus, in Shakspeare's play of Julius 
Ca3sar. Others were stimulated by the offer of pecuniary 
reward. These, it was observed, staid away from their 
usual places of work for several weeks prior to tlie in- 
tended assault, although their circumstances had pre- 
viously rendered them dependent on their daily labor for 
support ; they were, during this time, abundantly supplied 
with money, which they squandered m bar-rooms and 
disreputable places. After the discovery of the plot, a 
strong watch was kept, by the agents of detection, over 
the movements of the conspirators, and efficient measures 
were adopted to guard against any attack which they 
might meditate upon the President elect, until after he 
was installed in office. 

Mr. Lincoln's family left Harrisburg for Washington, 
by way of Baltimore, in the special train intended for him, 
and as, before starting, a message announcing Mr. Lin- 
coln's arrival at Washington had been telegraphed to 
Baltimore, over the lines that had been repaired that 
morning, the passage of Mrs. Lincoln and friends through 
Baltimore was safely effected. During the ceremony of 
" raising the flag on Lidependence Hall," on Friday 
morning, Mr. Lincoln remarked that he would assert his 
principles on his inauguration, though he were to be as- 
sassinated on the spot ; — evidently referring to the com- 
munication made to him on the night previous. The 
number originally banded together for the assassination of 
Ish:. Lincoln, as far as could be ascertahied, was twenty ; 
but the number of those who were fully acquainted with 
the details of the plot became daily smaller as the time 
for executing it drew near. Some of the women em- 
ployed by the detective went to serve as waiters, seam- 
stresses, &c., in the families of the conspirators, and a 
record was regularly kept of what was said and done to 
further their enterprise. A record was also kept, by the 

10* 



114 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

detective, of their deliberations in secret conclave. Thus 
our country was saved from a great crime, and Maryland 
from a foul blot that would have stained her fair name, 
by precautions which anticipated and thwarted the designs 
of the conspirators. 



CHAPTER YII. 

Many and long were the prayers that were made, 

And millions were bowed with sorrow, 
"Whilst they wept for the glorious land thus hetrayed, 

And bittei'ly thought of the morrow. 

February 23. The United States property and army 
posts in Texas, with the exception of Fort Brown, which 
Capt. Hill refused to surrender under Twiggs' order, were 
delivered to the State by General Twiggs. 

A private letter from a gentleman in Texas gives a 
Ijrief account of the treason of General Twiggs. The 
following is an extract : — 

" Before I was out of bed, with a great shout, heard 
half a mile, the arsenal property was invested, and every 
House was filled with men, next to the commissary and 
pay department. This was protected by two companies of 
regulars. All day the most intense excitement prevailed, 
the commissioners on belialf of Texas and Gen. Twiggs 
negotiating. Over one thousand men were under arms, 
all our bridges guarded, and every moment a conflict was 
expected. Finally, Twiggs ended in ignominy an infa- 
mous career, by giving up all ; and by four o'clock the 
poor soldiers left their quarters and took to camp a mile 
out of town, and their places were filled by the '■'■Knights 
of the Golden Circle. Only two weeks previous, Gen. 
Twiggs furnished these very K. G. C.'s with arms, who 
now drive him from his position." 

Evidence sufficient has been received to show that Gen. 
Twiggs, in addition to being a traitor, most basely de- 
ceived all the officers under him. Had he resisted the 

115 



116 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



demands of Texas, his whole force there would have 
stood by him to the last. 

The demoralizing effect of secession has had no illus- 
tration more i2:nominions and more shameless than has 
been afforded by the conduct of General Twiggs. He 
has not merely violated his oaths and gone over to the 
insurgents, but has disbanded his army, and delivered up 
to the State of Texas the posts and property of the 
United States, — a scandalous betrayal of trust. On the 
lowest view which can be taken of military honor, his 
conduct was infamous. 

Treason, such as characterized the career of Cobb, 
Thompson, Floyd, and Twiggs, would put to blush the 
traitor " Arnold," while such names as Lieut. Hamilton, 
Commodore Armstrong, Capt. Breshwood, and other 
traitor officers of the revenue service, should have been 
stricken in disgrace from the national muster-rolls, instead 
of receiving from Secretary Toucey the " Well done, 
good and faithful servants," and their names still kept on 
the rolls of the American navy, side by side with those 
who have either died in defence of their flag, or resigned 
from honorable motives. 

March 1. General Twiggs was expelled from the 
United States army. 

March 2. Revenue Cutter Dodge surrendered to the 
rebels at Galveston. 

March 4. Texas State convention declared that State 
out of the Union. 

Inauguration of President Lincoln. Troops in Wash- 
ington were under arms to prevent an apprehended attack 
from the secessionists. 

The President's inaugural address appealed alike to the 
judgment and sympathies of the people. It enforced on 
the attention of all the value of the L^nion to the mdi- 
vidual as well as the country, to the humble citizen as 
emphatically as to the President of the United States ; yet 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 117 

it did not seem to meet the approbation of the extremists 
of either party. The rabid abolitionists of the Nortli 
thought it too conciliating, while the fire-eating politicians 
of the South denounced it as being a declaration of war, 
and became exasperated that President Lincoln should 
express his determination to hold the government prop- 
erty and collect the revenues, though at the same time the 
city of Charleston, S. C, was in a state of rebellion, and 
ten thousand men under arms in the city and vicinity ; and 
the tone of public feeling is well illustrated by the com- 
ments of the Charleston Mercury and Courier upon the 
inaugural address. The Mercury says : — 

" If ignorance could add anything to folly, or insolence 
to brutality, the President of the Northern States of Amer- 
ica has, in this address, achieved it. A more lamentable 
display of feeble inability to grasp the circumstances of 
this momentous emergency could scarcely have been con- 
ceived. That President Lincoln will attempt to collect 
revenue off the bar is now beyond a question. What 
then ? Here lies the question in which alone this State 
is directly concerned. What course is then to be pur- 
sued by the Southern government ? There are but two 
open. The one, immediate attack upon Fort Sumter; 
the other, to besiege and starve out the fortress. To 
attack the fort will not remove the men-of-war from off 
our bar. What, then, will be gained ? It is a question. 
To reinforce Fort Sumter is now only to hasten the 
period of starvation, for no ship-of-war can enter our har- 
bor and land supplies. Should she succeed in running 
to the foit, she will be under the constant fire of three or 
four batteries, within telling and destructive distance. 
She must be quickly destroyed. In the mean time, our 
ships, or ships laden with our goods for foreign ports, 
may continue their course as usual. Even should a 
blockade be declared, it can in no way interfere with the 
egress and ingress of neutral bottoms in their ordinary 



118 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

avocations of trade. A duty may, doubtless, for the pres- 
ent, be collected on such unports as arrive here directly 
from abroad. Of this, reckoning must be made in the 
calculation of costs, pro and con. A few months must 
settle the whole question. And the taking of Fort 
Sumter immediately cannot, as far as we can perceive, 
hasten that period. We will be little further when we 
have finished than when we begun, — minus some valua- 
ble lives." 

The Charleston Courier breaks forth in the following 
impetuous strain : — 

" Let the argument proceed to the next logical and 
necessary step, — an appeal to arms. We are as well 
ready as any free people can ever be expected to be found 
in advance of the actual onset ; and that argument once 
applied, will bring us new forces and resources. We are 
ready." 

March 5. Jefferson Davis appointed General P. G. T. 
Beauregard to command the Confederate troops at 
Charleston, S. C. 

March 6. Fort Brown, Texas, surrendered by special 
agreement. 

March 9. The congress of the Southern Confederacy 
passed an act for the establishment and organization of 
an army. 

March 12. The Confederate commissioners, For- 
syth and Crawford, sent a communication to the Secre- 
tary of State, Mr. Seward. 

March 15. Secretary Seward replied to the communi- 
cation, declining ofiicial intercourse. 

March 16. The Montgomery convention adjourned to 
May 13. 

March 18. Supplies sent to Fort Pickens were inter- 
cepted by the rebels. 

March 22. A meeting was held at Frankfort, Ala- 
bama, opposed to secession. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 119 

March 28. The vote of Louisiana on secession was 
published in the New Orleans papers, as follows : for 
secession, 20,448 ; against secession, 17,296. 

March 30. Mississippi convention ratified the Confed- 
erate Constitution, 78 to 7. 

April 3. A long and exciting cabinet meeting was 
held in Washington, to take into consideration the most 
judicious means of relieving Fort Sumter, enforcing the 
observance of the laws, and preparing for emergencies 
which might arise. 

Great activity was manifested in the Navy Depart- 
ment. 

South Carolina convention ratified the Confederate 
Constitution, 114 to 16. 

Rebel battery on Morris Island fired hito a schooner. 
No one hurt. 

April 4. Virginia convention refused to submit a se- 
cession ordinance to the people, 89 to 45. 

April 7. General Beauregard notified Major Ander- 
son that intercourse between the city of Charleston and 
Fort Sumter would no longer be permitted, and that he 
could receive no more supplies from the town. Steam 
transport Atlantic sailed from New York with troops and 
supplies. 

April 8. Lieutenant Talbot arrived in Charleston, as 
messenger from the Federal Government, and left again 
for Washington on the tenth. He held a conference with 
Governor Pickens and Gen. Beauregard, the nature of 
which was to obtain permission for an unarmed store-ship 
to take provisions to the starving garrison at Fort Sum- 
ter. Permission was refused. Whereupon Lieut. Talbot 
notified the Governor of South Carohna, in the name of 
the Federal Government, that supplies ivoiild be sent to 
Major Anderson, "peaceably if possible, otherwise by 
force." Lieut. Talbot was not allowed to communicate 
with Major ilnderson at Fort Sumter. 



120 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

April 9. Steamers Illinois and Baltic sailed from New 
York with sealed orders. 

April 10. The floating battery of the rebels at 
Charleston having been finished, was mounted with four 
thirty-two pounders, two forty-two's, and manned by sixty- 
four men, and anchored in a cove near Sullivan's Island, 
in a position commanding the barbette guns of Fort Sum- 
ter. 

South Carolina convention adjourned, subject to the 
call of the president. Before adjourning, it passed a 
resolution approving oi the conduct of Gen. Tvviggs in 
resigning his commission and turning over the public 
property in Texas to the State authorities. 

A special dispatch from Charleston, under date April 
10, says : — 

" About seven thousand troops are now at the fortifica- 
tions. Troops are pouring in from the interior in great 
numbers. One thousand men were sent to the fortifica- 
tions to-day, and eighteen hundred more will go down to- 
morrow. Everything is ready for a collision. A battle 
is hourly expected, for Fort Sumter will be attacked with- 
out waiting for the ' abolition fleet. ^ The beginning of 
the end is approaching." 

April 11. The Confederate commissioners left Wash- 
ington for Montgomery, satisfied that no recognition of 
their government would take place under President Lin- 
coln. The commissioners alleged that the " Montgomery 
government was earnestly desirous for peace, and that in 
accordance with their instructions, as well as their own 
feelings, they left no means unexhausted to attain that 
much-desired end." They charged the administration 
with gross perfidy, and expressed their firm conviction 
that war was inevitable, and that the responsibility would 
rest on the head of the Federal Government. 

Intense commotion was produced in Washington by 
the promulgation of an order calluig out the entire mill- 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 121 

tia of the District. It was soon ascertained, however, 
that the movement arose from precaution, and from the 
immediate necessity of means of defence, in consequence 
of information being received of a contemplated move- 
ment for the seizure of the city by the secessionists. 
Near midnight, orders were issued for the assembling of 
tlie militia at their armories in the morning, and officers 
were engaged during the forenoon summoning the men. 
Some twenty companies were inspected at noon. Wash- 
ington bore a decidedly warlike appearance. Troops 
were marching and countermarching through the streets, 
and drums and fifes were heard in every direction. Sev- 
eral hundred men were mustered into service in the course 
of the afternoon. Four or five comjjanics marched to 
the War Department and took the army oath to serve the 
United States faithfully against all enemies or opposers. 
The obligation was for three months unless sooner dis- 
charged. Thirty-two members of Schaffer's National 
Rifles resigned, rather than remain in the ranks under 
the "flag of the Union" in the present emergency. They 
were mostly, if not all. Southern men. Nearly a thousand 
men were enrolled in the regular service from the District 
militia. Those who refused to take the oath of allegiance 
were marched back to the armories, disarmed, and their 
names stricken from the roll. 

While these preparations were being made in Washing- 
ton for the defence of the national Capitol, and the calls 
of the War Department were responded to by many " stout 
hearts and strong arms," Major Anderson and his little 
band of half-famished soldiers, in Fort Sumter, were 
visited by Senator Chesnut, who was deputized, with Chis- 
holm and Lee, to carry a message from General Beaure- 
gard, demanding the immediate and unconditional sur- 
render of the fort. Major Anderson replied that his 
" sense of honor and his obligations to his government 
would prevent his compliance " with the demand. 
11 



122 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Perhaps it would bo proper here to state, that one of the 
delusions which has served probably more than any other 
to encourage the secessionists, is the idea that the laborers 
and workmen of the North were all ready for insurrection 
from want of employment. They fancied the laboring 
classes of the North were on the point of starvation ; that 
all the Southern States had to do was to commence the 
war and then stand still, and the Northern laborers would 
fight their battles for them. Alas, for their credulity, 
they will learn soon enough that Northern workmen are 
the truest friends and supporters of the Union, and that 
the laboring classes are the most loyal citizens, who would 
not allow this government to be trampled in the dust, in 
the day when the Constitution and the laws are to be en- 
forced. 

Gen, B. F. Butler, of Massachusetts, talking with a 
South Carolhia commissioner, the latter is reported to 
have told him, that if Massachusetts should send ten 
thousand men to " preserve the Union" against Southern 
secession, she would have to fight twice that number of 
her own citizens at home who would oppose the policy. 
" By no means," Mr. Butler replied. " When we come 
from Massachusetts we will not leave a single traitor 
behind, unless he is hanging on a treey 

The following dispatch was received from Charleston, 
under date of April 11 : "A formal demand for the 
evacuation of Fort Sumter was made at two o'clock to- 
day. Major Anderson refused to surrender. His reply 
is to the effect that to do so would be inconsistent with the 
duty he owes to his government. Hundreds of persons 
have been waiting for hours on the wharves, and other 
points of observation, to see the beginning of the conflict, 
among them a great number of ladies. The house-tops 
are covered with people, watching with feverish interest 
for the first signal of attack. The excitement in the city 
is intense ; every train brings throngs of citizens and 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 123 

soldiers to town ; twenty-two car loads came from Colum- 
bia to-night, and advices have just been received that 
Georgia has ready fifty thousand men armed and equipped 
for service. 

" A call has been made for three hundred mounted 
volunteers as an extra patrol in the city to-night. Over 
one thousand have responded. The Sixteenth Regiment 
has also been ordered on duty ; the Citadel Cadets are 
guarding the battery with heavy cannon. The movements 
at Fort Sumter are plainly visible with a glass. Major 
Anderson has been busy all day strengthening his position. 

" Senators Wigfall, Chesnut, Ex-Governor Manning of 
South Carolina, Hon. Wm. Porcher Miles, ex-member 
of Congress, and Pryor of Virginia, are on the staff of 
Gen. Beauregard, doing duty to-night ; stirring times are 
at hand ; the ball may open at any moment with great 
slaughter ; thousands are waiting to see the attack com- 
menced." 

It is estimated that between six and seven thousand 
men were stationed on Morris' and Sullivan's Islands and 
points along the coast. Every man capable of bearing 
arms was called out ; and all to fight sixtij men. 

Major Anderson fired a signal gun at ten o'clock in the 
morning, probaoly hoping to get a response from the 
" fleet" coming to his assistance. 

April 12. Hostilities commenced. At half-past four 
o'clock in the morning, Fort Moultrie began the bom- 
bardment of Fort Sumter, after which the batteries at 
Mount Pleasant, Cumming's Point, and the floating bat- 
tery, opened a brisk fire with shot and shell. Everybody 
was in a ferment ; some of those fighting were stripped 
to the waist. 

Fort Sumter remained silent, no signs of life or anima- 
tion for two hours and a half, while the shot and shell 
flew thick and fast from seventeen mortars and thirty 
large guns, mostly columbiads, until seven o'clock, the 



124 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

bombardment still going on, Major Anderson opened from 
the two tiers of guns looking towards Fort Moultrie and 
Stevens' Battery, and the first gun that was fired by the 
" Federal troops " in the war of 1861 boomed forth 
towards Moultrie. 

The war cry was sounded — hostilities commenced, ran 
along the wires of the telegraph, reverberated among the 
hills of New England, and aroused the sturdy sons of 
Maine. The great heart of the North " stood still," as 
if in its suspended vibrations it might hear, coming from 
the far distant parapets of Sumter, the notes of victory. 

Tlie firing continued uninterruptedly during the day, 
Major Anderson dividing his shots between Fort Moul- 
trie, the Stevens and floating batteries, and Fort Johnson, 
with all the skill and determination of a great military 
chieftain, worthy of his position, until six o'clock in the 
evening, when he ceased firing, and was engaged during 
the night repairing damages, and preparing for an early 
attack upon the enemy. The firing, however, was kept 
up all night on Fort Sumter. A bomb was thrown into 
the fort every twenty minutes during the night, but 
Sumter's guns remained silent until the morning broke, 
when Major Anderson commenced to return the fire of 
the " Confederates," which was kept up with unintermit- 
ting vigor. 

At nine o'clock in the morning a dense smoke poured 
out from Fort Sumter, and it was soon ascertained that 
the officers' quarters, sheds, and wood-work of tlie fort 
had taken fire from one of the enemy's shells. Tliey 
have now to contend with an internal enemy. Fort 
Sumter is on fire. The Federal flag is placed at half- 
mast, signalizing distress, while the shells from Fort 
Moultrie and the batteries on Morris Island fall thick 
and fast into Major Anderson's stronghold. The little 
garrison of Sumter are only occupied trying to put out 
the fire, — no time to return the shot of the enemy. The 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 125 

flames had forced the destruction of nearly all the pow- 
der, — nmety barrels had been rolled out to prevent 
explosion ;' the cartridges were gone, and none could be 
made ; the entire wood-works of the fort are one vast 
sheet of flames ; a raft is thrown out, loaded with men, 
who are passing up buckets of water to extinguish the 
fire, — they now become objects of fire from Morris 
Island, and the balls are seen skipping over the water 
and striking the unprotected raft. Meantime Major An- 
derson's guns were silent. He allowed his men to be 
exposed to the galling fire upon them but for a few mo- 
ments, then ordered them in and shut the batteries, as 
the smoke was too thick to work them. Fort Sumter is 
greatly disabled ; several of her large guns are dis- 
mounted, two of its portholes are knocked into one, and 
the wall from the top is crumbling, and yet the " stars 
and stripes " still wave. 

Shells from Cumming's Point and Fort Moultrie are 
bursting in and over Fort Sumter in quick succession. 
Every shot now seems to tell heavily. About one o'clock, 
P.M., the flag-staff was shot away, and the flag nailed to 
the piece and displayed from the ramparts. Three times 
Major Anderson's barracks were on fire, and twice he 
succeeded in putting out the flames, but the third time it 
was beyond control, and everything " burnable " about 
the fort was destroyed ; the flames burst through the 
roofs of the houses within its walls, and dense clouds of 
smoke shot quickly upward. Major Anderson fired only 
occasionally ; the guns on the ramparts of Sumter had 
no utterance in them ; burstcd shells and grape scattered 
like hail over the doomed fort, and drove the soldiers 
under cover ; from the iron battery at Cumming's Point a 
continuous fire was kept up from three ten-inch colum- 
biads, three sixty-four pounders, tliree mortars and one 
rifled cannon, while the floating battery and Fort Moul- 
trie continued very regular and accurate, until half-past 
11* 



126 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

one, P. M., when Major Anderson, finding it impossible to 
hold out longer, or, at least, that resistance was vam, and 
despairing of any hope of help from the " fleet," run up 
the ivhite flag, and an unconditional surrender was made. 
After Major Anderson's flag-staff was shot away, Col. 
Wigfall, one of Gen. Beauregard's aids, went to Fort 
Sumter with a white flag, to offer assistance in extin- 
guishing the flames. He approached the burning fortress 
from Morris Island, while the fire was raging on all sides, 
and effected a landing at Fort Sumter. He approached 
a porthole, and was met by Major Anderson. Tlie latter 
said he had displayed a white flag, but the firing from the 
South Carolina batteries was kept up, nevertheless. The 
double-tongued traitor from the " cotton-fields of Texas " 
replied that Major Anderson must haul down the Ameri- 
can flag ; that no parley would be granted, and that 
" surrender or fight " was the word. Major Anderson 
then took down the stars and stripes, and displayed only 
a flag of truce. All firing instantly ceased, with the 
exception of one gun fired by Senator Chesnut, and 
another member of the staff of Gen. Beauregard, which 
was fired by way of " amusement " from Mou.nt Pleasant, 
which made a large hole in the parapet. Afterwards, 
two officers of Gen. Beauregard's staff, with ex-Senator 
Chesnut and ex-Governor Manning, came over in a boat 
and stipulated with Major Anderson that his surrender 
should be unconditional for the present, subject to the 
terms of General Beauregard, after which he and his 
men were allowed to remain in possession of the fort, 
while Messrs. Chesnut and Manning came over to the 
city, accompanied by a member of the Palmetto Guards, 
bearing the colors of his company. These were met by 
hundreds of citizens, and as they marched up the streets 
to the general's quarters, the crowd was swelled to thou- 
sands, shouts rent the air, and the wildest joy was mani- 
fested. Three fire-engines were sent down to the fort, 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 127 

for the purpose of extinguishing the flames ; but the fire 
had, however, been previously extinguished by Anderson 
and his men. 

The " fleet " laid idly by during thirty hours, silent 
witnesses of the contest, and either could not or would 
not come to his assistance ; probably, however, not being 
ships of war, they were incapable of rendering any mate- 
rial aid against vsuch a powerful enemy. During the 
engagement, it is said, the soldiers in Fort Sumter were 
perfectly reckless of their lives, and at every shot would 
jump upon the ramparts, observe the effect, and then 
jump down, cheering, and yet no one was killed in Sum- 
ter during the action, and but four or five wounded, and 
the rebels say none was killed on their side, though quite 
a number were struck by spent pieces of shell and 
knocked down, but none hurt seriously. 

After the surrender of the fort, a boat, with an officer 
and ten men^ was sent from one of the United States 
ships composing the fleet in the offing, to Gen. Simons, 
commander of the forces on Morris Island, with a request 
that a merchant ship, or one of the government vessels, 
be allowed to enter and take off the commander and gar- 
rison of Fort Sumter. Gen. Simons replied that if no 
hostilities were attempted during the night, and no effort 
being made to reinforce or retake Fort Sumter, he would 
give them an answer at nine o'clock on Sunday morning. 
The officer signified that this was satisfactory, and re- 
turned. On Sunday, the fourteenth, the last act in the 
" drama " of Fort Sumter was concluded Major Ander- 
son and his command, taking with them their wounded, 
left the fort and sailed for New York. He saluted his 
flag, and the company then forming on the parade- 
ground, marched out on the wharf, with di-um and fife 
playing " Yankee Doodle." 

The Confederate flag was raised over Fort Sumter late 
in the afternoon on Sunday, and the fort was garrisoned 



128 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES, 

by the " Palmetto Guards," under command of Lieut. 
Col. Ripley, who took command of Fort Moultrie after 
the departure of Major Anderson. A correspondent of 
one of the New York papers, writing from Charleston, 
says : " One of the aids canied brandy to Major Ander- 
son in a boat after the fire, and the latter said it was very 
acceptable, as the men were completely exhausted by 
their labors ;" the correspondent adds, " I mention this to 
show the kind and chivalrous relations existing between 
the officers." 

Perhaps their ideas are sufficiently extensive to induce 
them to believe it was a manifestation of " chivalr// " in 
ex-Senator Chesnut and his colleague to fire a sixty-four 
pounder into a fort with a white flag flying from its ram- 
parts, just for " amusement,^'' or in firing upon an unpro- 
tected raft, covered with defenceless men, who, thought- 
less of their own safety, are laboring assiduously to sub- 
due the raging flames. 

The excitement in Charleston, during the contest, is 
said to be immense. The housetops, the battery, the 
wharves, the shipping, and in fact every available place, 
was taken possession of by the multitude. The streets 
were filled with men, women, and children, old and 
young, black and white. Some went to the battery, some 
to the wharves, and some to the steeples of the churches, 
to view the solemn spectacle, and many a tearful eye 
attested the anxious affection of the mother, wife, and 
sister, for those engaged in the contest. But with the 
display of a flag of truce, and the announcement that 
Fort Sumter had unconditionally surrendered, the bells 
rang out a merry peal, cannon were fired, and the people 
engaged in every demonstration of joy. 

Troops poured into the city by hundreds, and people 
were constantly arriving on horseback, and by every 
other conveyance. Within an area of fifty miles, where 
the thunder of the artillery could be heard, the effect 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 129 

was magnificently terrible. It was estimated that two 
thousand shots were fired, and that ten thousand men 
were under arms in the harbor and on the coast. Fort 
Moultrie was badly damaged. The officers' quarters and 
barracks were torn to pieces. The frame-houses on the 
island were riddled with shot in many instances, and 
whole sides of houses were torn out. The other fortifica- 
tions sustained but little injury. 

THE REBEL FORTIFICATIONS. 

The nearest point of land to Fort Sumter is Cum- 
ming's Point — distance one thousand one hundred and 
fifty yards. On this point is a railroad iron battery. It 
consists of a heavy frame-work of yellow pine logs. The 
roof is of the same material, over which dovetailed bars 
of railroad iron of the T pattern are laid from top to 
bottom — all of which is riveted down in the most secure 
manner. On the front it presents an angle of about 
thirty degrees. There are three port-holes, which open 
and close with iron shutters of the heaviest description. 
When open, the muzzles of the columbiads fill up the 
space completely. The recoil of the gun enables the 
shutters to be closed instantly. The guns of the work 
bear on the south wall of Sumter, the line of fire being 
at an angle of about tliirty-five degrees. 

The Fort Johnson batteries consist of two huge sand 
works, containing mortar and siege-gun batteries. 

These works are one and one-fourth of a mile from 
Fort Sumter, and at present manned by two companies 
of regular artillery. 

The Fort Morris b^.ttery, on Morris Island, has three 
columbiads and four mortars, which can be used either 
for Fort Sumter or for the channel, being en barbette. 

Green's battery has four columbiads and two forty-two 
pounders en barbette, which will sweep the whole island. 



130 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

There are on this island twelve batteries in all. Be- 
sides these are Castle Pinckney, on the lower end of Shute's 
Folly Island, Fort Moultrie, on a peninsula opposite Fort 
Sumter, and several works lower down to ^lard the en- 
trance of the port. 

A rather amusing anecdote is told of an old slave, who 
passed through the hottest fii-e, with a sloop-load of wool, 
on Friday evening, and came safely to the city. Somebody 
told him he would be killed in the attempt. " Can't help 
dat," said he, " must go to de town to-night. If anybody 
hurt dis chile or dis boat, massa see him about it shuah." 
His sloop received four shots. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Still, as in battle's fiery front, 

I saw my country's flag unrolled, 
Meet the dread storm's impetuous brunt, 

And fling the tempest from its fold. 

LUNT. 

The news of the attack on Fort Sumter created a pro- 
found sensation throughout the entire North. It would 
be impossible to give even a faint idea of the excited state 
of the public mind, — words are inadequate to express 
anything like the reality. 

We pause to contemplate the terrible event, the com- 
mencement of actual warfare between two portions of the 
United States, — brother against brother. But the great 
fact is upon us. Civil war has been commenced, and 
there are few among us who are ready to see this glorious 
government prostrate in the dust at the feet of traitors. 
Fraternal blood must be shed, the government must be 
sustained. 

Coincident with the surrender of Fort Sumter, the 
slumbering patriots of the free States awoke to the fearful 
reality that war was inaugurated. Party divisions and 
political factions were immediately sunk in one common 
grave ; love for their country and loyalty to the govern- 
ment was the all-pervading spirit, — every countenance 
was wild with enthusiasm. 

The " smell of battle " seemed to put new nerve into 
the sons of New England, and they arose in their might, 
and, with one heart, rallied around the standard for the 
defence of the " Constitution," irrespective of " party." 

131 



132 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

They came, as one man, ready to lay their lives on the 
"altar" of their country. 

Telegraph and newspaper offices were crowded to reple- 
tion, eager for the least item of intelligence from the seat 
of war. The streets were literally black with human 
beings wandering up and down discussing the probable 
" attack upon the national capital," and the final result ; 
while here and there an excited crowd, with tearful eyes, 
dwelt with generous ardor upon the picture of the long 
vigil in Sumter ; the midnight transfer from Fort Moul- 
trie ; and recounted the weary watch of the little garrison 
for reinforcements, which an imbecile and vacillating 
President ordered to-day and recalled to-morrow. They 
pictured the eighty men looking out daily upon the vast 
preparations made for their destruction ; obedient to their 
orders to act only on the defensive ; daily giving of their 
failing strength to add what little they might to the de- 
fences of their post ; watching with anxious eyes their 
decreasing store of provisions, their brave- hearts never 
faltering from duty. They spoke of the calm Sabbath 
morning (February 3) on which the women and children 
belonging to the garrison took their sad farewell of hus- 
bands and fathers, and sailed for New York, to find shel- 
ter from the coming storm. Over and over again did 
they describe the attack, made hastily, in fear of the arri- 
val of reinforcements ; the first guns, at early day, from 
Fort Moultrie ; the reply from Sumter ; the growing cir- 
cle of fire around the devoted garrison ; the crowds gath- 
ered in the city's front to witness the unequal strife, and 
rejoice m the attempt of six thousand men to slay eighty 
of their countrymen, — that in that solemn moment a late 
United States senator " fired a gun by way of amuse- 
ment ; " and that five thousand South Carolinian women, 
denying the gentle instincts of womanhood, gathered to 
view the bloody spectacle, ready to respond to any sacri- 
fice that might be required of them; not forgettmg to 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



133 



relate, with wondering scorn, that even in this great crisis 
of the nation's history there was here and there to ])e 
found at the " North" a handful oi pitiful traitors to glory 
in the progress of treason. 

The 12th of April, 1861, is a day ever memorable in 
our annals, — treason has risen from blustermg words to 
cowardly deeds. They have deliberately chosen the issue 
of battle; he who hesitates in his allegiance is a traitor 
with them. But there was no hesitation. The country 
responded as one man to the call upon its resources, and 
thousands on thousands of freemen only waited for the 
" war note "to be sounded from the national capital, to 
take up arms and march to the battle-field. The glorious 
old " stars and stripes " were simultaneously thrown to the 
breeze from millions of dwellings, stores, and public 
buildings, and suspended across the principal streets and 
avenues in the greatest profusion ; some large buildings 
displayed miniature " flags " from each and every window ; 
many public buildings, stores, etc., were decorated with 
festoons of red, white, and blue, bearing appropriate mot- 
toes, surmounted by an eagle, shield, or some other em- 
blem of liberty. Union rosettes and badges were uni- 
versally adopted by men, women, and children. The 
greatest enthusiasm was manifested throughout the entire 
free States. 



When slumbering Treason woke at last 

On South Carolina's soil, 
And all the patriots' hopes were past 

To avert the fatal broil ; — 



"When the first white smoke that curled above 

The cannon on the beach. 
And the ball was sped at " Sumter's walls/' 

To make the deadly breach ; — 

Then Northern heroes went to arms. 

Looking to God above 
To care for wives and children left. 

And shield them with his love. 

12 



134 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

"Give us," they cried, "from heaven above. 

The stars and azure blue, 
And we will make the stripes ourselves! " — 

They've kept their promise true. 

Our gallant sailors on the deep 

Have twice flung to the breeze 
Our good old flag on hostile forts. 

Among palmetto trees. 

And though we mourn for those who fell 

For the land they died to save, 
Still we feel a glow of honest pride 

That they fill a " patriot's grave." 

April 15tli. President's proclamation issued, calling 
for seventy-five thousand volunteers, and commanding 
the rebels to return to peace within twenty days ; also 
calling for an extra session of Congress, to convene 
July 4th. 

BY THE PRESIDENT OP THE UNITED STATES A PROCLAMATION. 

"Whereas, the laws of the United States have been for 
some time past and now are opposed, and the execution 
thereof obstructed, in the States of South Carolina, Geor- 
gia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, 
by a combmation too powerful to be suppressed by the 
ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers 
vested in marshals by the law ; now, therefore, I, Abra- 
ham Lincoln, President of the United States, in virtue of 
the power in me vested by the Constitution and the laws, 
have thought fit to call forth, and hereby do call forth, the 
militia of the several States of the Union, to the aggregate 
number of seventy-five thousand, in order to suppress 
said combinations and to cause the laws to be duly exe- 
cuted. The details of this object will be immediately 
communicated to the State authorities through the War 
Department. 

I appeal to all loyal citizens to facilitate and aid this 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 135 

effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the exist- 
ence of our national Union, and the perpetuity of popu- 
lar government, and to redress the wrongs already long 
enough endured. I deem it proper to say that the first 
service assigned to the forces hereby called forth will prob- 
ably be to repossess the forts, places and property which 
have been seized from the Union, and in every event the 
utmost care will be observed, consistently with the objects 
aforesaid, to avoid any devastation, any destruction of or 
interference with property, or any disturbance of peaceful 
citizens in any part of the country. I hereby command 
the persons composing the combinations aforesaid to dis- 
perse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes with- 
in twenty days from this date. 

Deeming that the present condition of public affairs 
presents an extraordinary occasion, I do hereby, in virtue 
of the power in me vested by the Constitution, convene 
both Houses of Congress. Senators and representatives 
are therefore summoned to assemble at their respective 
chambers at twelve o'clock, noon, on Thursday, the fourth 
day of July next, and there to consider and determine 
such measures as in their wisdom the public safety and 
interest may seem to demand. 

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and 
caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington, this fifteenth day of 
April, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and 
sixty-one, and of the independence of the United 
States the eighty-fifth. 

(Signed) Abraham Lincoln. 

By the President, 

William H. Seward, Secretary of State. 

The requisition from Washington for troops came to 
the Governor of Massachusetts by telegraph, at about two 
o'clock, on the fifteenth, calling for two regiments of ten 



136 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

companies of sixty-four men each. It was requested that 
the companies be got ready as soon as possible, and for- 
warded, by companies, immediately to Washington. 

The Governor had a consultation with his staff, and 
finally decided upon ordering out the Third, Fourth, Sixth 
and Eighth Regiments of infantry. The following order 
was accordingly issued : — 

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

Head Quarters, Boston, April 15, 1861. 

Special Order No. 14. 

You are hereby ordered to muster the regiment under 
your command, in uniform, on Boston QoumiQw forthwith, 
in compliance with a requisition made by the President 
of the United States. The troops are to go to Washing- 
ton. The regimental band will be dispensed with. 
By order of his Excellency John A. Andrew, Governor 
and Commander-in-Chief. 

William Schouler, Adj. General. 
To Cols. Edward F. Jones, 6th Regiment ; Abner B. 
Packard, 4th Regiment ; David W. Wardrop, 3d Regi- 
ment ; Lt. Col. Timothy Munroe, 8th Regiment. 

Major Cook, of the Boston Light Artillery, had tendered 
the services of his company, but the Governor did not 
feel at liberty to accept the offer, as the call of the Presi- 
dent was for infantry only. 

The Third Regiment was commanded by Col. Da^4d W. 
Wardrop, of New Bedford, and consisted of six companies, 
one from each of the towns of Halifax, Plymouth, Free- 
town, Plympton and Carver, and the city of New Bed- 
ford. 

The Fourth Regiment was commanded by Col. Abner 
B. Packard, of Quincy, and consisted of companies from 
Canton, Easton, Braintree, Randolph, Abington, Foxboro', 
Taunton, Quincy and Hingham. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES, 



137 



The Sixth Regiment was commanded by Col. Edward 
F. Jones, of Lowell. It consisted of four companies from 
Lowell, two from Lawrence, and one from Groton and 
Acton — making eight. 

Tlie Eighth Regiment was commanded by Lieut. CoL 
Timothy Munroe, of Lynn, Col. Coffin having recently 
resigned. It consisted of three companies from Marble- 
head, two from Lynn, and one each from Newburyport, 
Beverly and Gloucester. 

Lieut. Col. Munroe raised live hundred volunteers in 
Lynn, on Monday evening, the loth, in addition to the 
two companies belonging to his regiment. A purse of 
five hundred dollars was raised immediately to start with. 

During the forenoon Gen. B. F. Butler tendered his 
brigade to the Governor, and several other officers of the 
Massachusetts Volunteer Militia made application to have 
their services accepted. 

New York legislature voted thirty thousand men and 
three million dollars for putting down the rebellion. 

Several Southern vessels, at New York, were seized 
and fined for irregular clearances. 

Governor Magoffin, of Kentucky, in reply to Secretary 
Cameron's dispatch calling for troops, says, — " Kentucky 
will furnish no troops for the wicked purpose of subduing 
her sister Southern States." 

Governor Letcher, of Virginia, in reply to the call for 
troops from that State, says, — " The militia of Virginia 
will not be furnished to the powers at Washington for 
any such use or purpose as they have in view." 

Governor Ellis, of North Carolina, telegraphed to the 
President that he could not respond to the call for troops, 
as he had doubts of his authority and right to do so. 

Governor Harris, of Tennessee, and Governor Jackson, 
of Missouri, also refused to furnish troops for the govern- 
ment at Washington. 

Governor Harris says, — "Tennessee will not furnish a 

12* 



138 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

single man for coercion, but fifty thousand, if necessary, 
for the defence of our rights or those of our Southern 
brothers," 

Governor Jackson says,-— " The requisition is illegal, 
unconstitutional, revolutionary, inhuman and diabolical, 
and cannot be complied with." 

The government of the Southern Confederacy called 
for thirty-two thousand men ; — two thousand from Flori- 
da, and five thousand from each of the other seceded 
States. 

April 16th, 17th, etc. General uprising in the North ; 
— proclamations, military orders, voting men and money, 
the order of the day. In the principal cities mobs visited 
newspaper offices and firms suspected of disloyalty, and 
compelled them to raise the stars and stripes. Legislatures 
not in session were called together ; banks offered loans 
to the government ; great public meetings were held ; and 
Union badges worn by everybody. 

April 16th. The four regiments of Massachusetts vol- 
unteers, ordered to report for service in Boston, began to 
arrive there at nine o'clock in the morning ; many of the 
men having left their homes with not more than two 
hours' notice, — dropped their tools, left their work-shops, 
their work half finished, bid a hasty farewell to wives and 
mothers, brushed away the falling tear, — and hurried off 
to respond to their country's call. That last hearty 
" God bless you ! " which lingered upon the lips of loved 
ones, with many will remain the parting words until the 
morning of the resurrection. 

Merchants, and business men generally, not only re- 
sponded liberally to the demands upon them for money, 
but nobly and generously offered those in their employ, if 
any wished to go to fight for their country, that their sal- 
aries should be continued on, or duly paid over to friends 
as they should dictate, and the places kept for them until 
their return. Many patriotic hearts availed themselves 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 139 

of this opportunity, and left tlio counting-rooms and mer- 
cantile houses, and rushed on with the crowd to enrol 
their names among that mighty host to fight for the Con- 
stitution and the Union, The question soon arose, " What 
would become of the families of volunteers left without 
means to provide for themselves ? " This question was 
no sooner asked than it was answered by generous dona- 
tions from moneyed men and patriotic women, some con- 
tributing as high as two thousand dollars to the " volun- 
teer fund," for the benefit of " soldiers' families." 

On the morning of the 16th, the bark Manhattan, Capt. 
Davis, of and from Savannah, arrived at the port of Bos- 
ton, and hauled in at Clapp's Wharf, No. 573 Commercial 
Street. As soon as Capt. Davis heard of the condition 
of afiairs at the South he hoisted a secession flag, bearing 
upon it fifteen stars and a rattlesnake, at his main-mast 
head. It soon attracted attention from a number of 
people in the vicinity, and presently there was quite a 
gathering on the wharf. The crowd and the excite- 
ment continued to increase, and several men on the wharf 
demanded who hoisted the flag. The captain, who was 
walking up and down the deck, replied, — "I did, and 
mean it shall stay there." The cries and movements of 
the crowd became every moment more menacing, and the 
captain, fearing violence, retreated to the lower deck. 
Finally, the crew hauled the flag down, to save the ship 
from being damaged, and passed it to the crowd on the 
wharf. It was immediately seized, and torn into a hun- 
dred pieces. 

The morning of the sixteenth of April was cold, dark 
and rainy, one of those gloomy mornings not much cal- 
culated to create enthusiasm among the volunteers. The 
order to assemble on the Common was countermanded, 
and the companies which first arrived proceeded directly 
to Faneuil Hall. Quite a crowd assembled on the Com- 
mon at an early hour in the morning, and withstood the 



140 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

storm bravely for several hours, expecting every moment 
the troops would arrive, but to them no troops came. 
The depots were thronged, and when the trains arrived 
with the different companies and regiments, the greatest 
enthusiasm was manifested, and cheer on cheer rent the 
air. 

The Marblehead companies, three in number, were the 
first to arrive at Paneuil Hall. They were received with 
hearty cheers by an immense crowd assembled in the 
street. When the order for troops was promulgated in 
Marblehead on the evening of the fifteenth, a subscription 
was at once started by the moneyed men of the place to 
provide for the families of the volunteers, who were mostly 
mechanics. In less than half an hour, one thousand 
dollars had been subscribed in sums of one hundred each, 
and next morning the amount was swelled to one thou- 
sand nine hundred. 

The Marblehead companies were soon followed by the 
companies belonging to the Fourth Regiment. Faneuil 
Hall was filled by one o'clock, and the companies which 
arrived after that time were quartered in other places. 
The Third Regiment, Col. Wardrop, which came in on the 
Old Colony Railroad, occupied the hall over the depot, 
which was tendered to them by Mr. Holmes, the president 
of the road. The New Bedford City Guards, Capt. In- 
graham, of this regiment, took dinner at the United States 
Hotel, and afterwards proceeded to the armory of the 
Second Battalion, which was tendered for their use. The 
Sixth Regiment/ Col. Jones, came in on the Lowell Rail- 
road, and first proceeded to Faneuil Hall, where they got 
dinner, and afterwards to the armory of the Second Bat- 
talion. The Eighth Regiment, Lieut. Col. Munroe, was 
divided, part being quartered at Fitchburg Hall and part 
at Faneuil Hall. 

In narrating the praiseworthy promptness to respond 
to the calls of the country of our own American people, 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 141 

we must not forgot our Irish citizens, for they were 
neither " last nor least " in this movement. 

On the evening of the sixteenth, the Irish residents of 
Boston assembled in great numbers at the Jackson Club 
Room, Hanover Street, to express their affection for their 
adopted country, their firm determination to support the 
President of the United States in his trying position, and 
their abhorrence of the rebellious subjects who were en- 
gaged at the South in fomenting civil war. 

B. S. Trcanor, Esq., called the meethig to order. On 
motion of Mr. James Sullivan, Captain Thomas Cass was 
appointed chairman for the evening. The organization 
was further perfected by the choice of the following gen- 
tlemen for vice-presidents : — 

Yice-Presidents — Dr. W. M. Walsh, T. H. Smith, B. 
S. Treanor, Owen Lappon, James Healy, Michael Gorm- 
l.ey, John Maloney, J. H. Fallon, James Sullivan, Martin 
Lennon, John McGlinn, Wm. B. Maloney, Dr. John 
Walsh, Cornelius Murphy, W. W. Doherty, Michael Cum- 
miskey, Jeremiah Lyons, John Kenney, Patrick Mclnerny, 
Dennis Hogan, Andrew D. Mahoney, James Dowling. 

Secretaries — James Donnelly, Thomas A. Matthews, 
John Glancy. 

The chairman then proceeded with his opening remarks. 
He thought the condition of the country was one fraught 
with momentous consequences to its adopted citizens. 
Our republic stands the last of all the great republics, 
and if this proves a failure, the experiment may never 
be tried again. We have the blessings of home, liberty 
and equality, a free press, and religious tolerance to all. 
Nothing seems to be wanting to the happiness of the peo- 
ple, and their chief aim should be to preserve the govern- 
ment which ensures these blessings. The success of the 
country has been an inspiration to the poor and down- 
trodden of all nations, not excepting unfortunate Ireland. 
We should resist every project and idea of disunion ; we 



142 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

should resist all attempts to withdraw us from the love 
of country, from whatever source they como. The young 
men are now called upon to remember whose sons they 
are, and from what blood they are descended. They 
should bear in mind that death never comes too soon, if 
necessary in the defence of one's country : — 

" Whether on the scaffold high, 
Oi- in the battle's van, 
The noblest place for man to die 
Is where he dies for man." 

B. S. Treanor, Esq., from the committee on resolutions, 
next addressed the meeting in a speech which was re- 
ceived with great enthusiasm. He expressed the hope 
that the adopted citizens might have an opportunity to 
stand up with those who were native and to the manor 
borne, upon the banks of the Potomac, in the defence of 
the Federal capital at Washington. His allusions to the 
Irish patriot Montgomery, and the soldier of foreign 
parentage who led the American forces at New Orleans, 
were received with general applause. Mr. Treanor at 
this point read the following resolutions : — 

" Whereas, for a long time previously, and ever since the 
election of Abraham Lincoln to the office of the United 
States, by a constitutional majority of the people, a dan- 
gerous and treasonable conspiracy has existed in several 
of the Southern States, the open and avowed object of 
which is the overthrow of the government and the destruc- 
tion of the Constitution and the Union ; and, 

" Whereas, this conspiracy was well known to members 
of the late cabinet of James Buchanan, who had sworn 
to maintain the Constitution of the United States ; yet, 
regardless alike of their duty as citizens and officers of 
the government, and in violation of their most solemn 
oaths, they not only neglected to suppress this treasonable 
conspiracy, but co-operated with the Southern traitors in 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 143 

furtherance of their diabolical purposes, by plundering for 
their use the national treasury, and sending them gov- 
ernment arms, intended originally for the defence of the 
country, to be used for its overthrow and destruction ; and, 

" Whereas, in pursuance of this design, the traitors of 
the South have seized upon and usurped the dock-yards, 
arsenals, magazines, forts, custom-houses, public funds, 
and other national property in the rebellious States, and 
are now using them, against the lives and liberties of the 
people to whom they belong ; and, 

" Whereas, every peaceful effort made by President Lin- 
coln to induce the rebels to return to their duty and their 
allegiance has met only contumely and insult from these 
misguided men, until the forbearance of the government 
was interpreted as evidence of its imbecility ; and at length 
ten thousand armed men have attacked Fort Sumter in 
the harbor of Charleston, and compelled the seventy brave 
defenders to surrender to their immense and superior 
numbers ; and that in pursuance of their treasonable de- 
signs the rebels now threaten to attack the seat of gov- 
ernment and plant their despotic flag upon its Capitol, — - 

" Be it therefore resolved by us, the adopted citizens of 
Boston, of Irish birth and parentage, in this the most 
dangerous and threatening crisis through which our be- 
loved adopted country has yet passed, that it is the solemn 
and sacred duty of every citizen and of every man who 
participates in and enjoys the inestimable blessings and 
privileges of our free government, to cast aside all party 
distinctions and unite as one man in support of the 
national administration, and in defence of our common 
country, its flag and its freedom. 

" Resolved, That we will -support the government, by 
every means in our power, in its efforts to enforce the 
laws, collect the revenue, repossess the national property, 
maintain the Constitution, and suppress treason and 
rebellion wherever it appears. 



144 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

" Resolved, that we call upon every adopted citizen of 
Irish birth to stand true to the country which has become 
the home of so many millions of our race and of the op- 
pressed of the Old World, and not permit the liberties for 
which Washington fought and Montgomery died to be 
trampled under foot by the slave oligarchy of the South." 

" What constitutional rights," continued Mr. Treanor, 
" of the Southern States have been in the slightest dcgTee 
infringed upon ? Have we come to that state that the 
ballot-box shall be no longer the exponent of the people's 
will, or are we in that condition that the election of a new 
President must inevitably inaugurate a bloody civil war ? 
Secession interests have been cherished and nurtured at 
the South ever since Andrew Jackson squelched it in '33. 
The very rifled cannon that helped to batter down the 
walls of Sumter were sent to South Carolina by the 
traitors in the public service. Whatever soreness may 
have been felt Ijy the adopted citizens at some of the past 
legislation of this State, they will be found ready, in the 
time of trial, to sacrifice every interest upon the altar of 
the country's cause, and as time to the national flag as 
those who rallied round it in the Revolution and the war 
of 1812. 

" No supporters of a slave oligarchy would be encoun- 
tered among the Irish race, who had experienced too 
keenly the discomforts of an aiTogant government at home 
to desire a continuance of the same in the New World, 
The flag of the Confederate States shall never wave over 
Faneuil Hall, till every adopted citizen of Massachusetts 
bites the dust." (Great applause.) 

Dr. Walsh made a speech to the same effect, and was 
followed by Dennis AY. O'Brien, who apologized for a 
short speech on the score of indisposition, the subject 
being one in which he was deeply interested, and advised 
every man to do his best to support the Union, the Con- 
stitution and the laws. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 145 

Mr. T. M. Brown said the words they had heard should 
make music iu the heart of every man born in the Emer- 
ald Isle. The place of every Irishman to-day is in the 
front. (A voice — " An' they niver was found in the 
rear ! " Three rousing cheers were given for the author 
of this im[)romptu.) 

Tlie countrymen of Daniel O'Connell, of Davis, and 
others of the iiniumerable patriots of the land, are bound, 
by all that is holy, to stand by the glorious flag that has 
ever been true to them. The spirit which fought and 
won, and compelled a treaty on the old stone of Limerick, 
which nerved and fired the blood of O'Connell, — ay, 
the spirit of liberty is alive to-day, and the American flag 
shall never trail in the dust while Irishmen live to de- 
feud it. 

Remarks were also made by James Sullivan, Edward 
Bay and others, and the resolutions were unanimously 
adopted. The meeting adjourned with cheers for the 
Union and the stars and stripes. 

The banks of Boston offered to the State government 
a loan of ten per cent, upon their capital, which would 
give the State treasury the sum of nearly four millions of 
dollars. The banks of Worcester also offered the State a 
loan of three hundred thousand ; the Randolph Bank, 
twenty-five thousand ; Columbian Bank, fifty thousand ; 
Revere Bank, fifty thousand ; Mount Wollaston Bank, 
twenty-five thousand ; and many other banks throughout 
the State of proportionate sums. The banks in all the 
free States tendered heavy loans to the State governments, 
for the purpose of arming and equipping the troops. 

Early on the morning of the seventeenth, the streets of 
Boston were filled with excited crowds discussing the war 
news, and awaiting the appearance of the military compa- 
nies. The most intense enthusiasm was manifested when 
the Sixth Regiment marched out of the armory of the 
Second Battalion, at Boylston Hall, and their route to the 

13 



14 G THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

State House was lined with people. Tlie ladies were out 
in great numbers, and white handkerchiefs fluttered in 
the breeze from every point. The State House was the 
centre of attraction, and a lai-gc police force was neces- 
sary to keep back the crowd in front and rear. The 
Sixth Regiment arrived about half past ten o'clock at the 
State House, and reported for duty.' The Washington 
Guards, Capt. Sampson, also arrived at eleven o'clock, 
witii sixty-eight men, and were attached to the Sixth Reg- 
iment. 

Previous to the departure of the Sixth Regiment from 
Boylston Hall, Major B. F. Watson, of Lawrence, ad- 
dressed the soldiers as follows : — 

" Fellow-Soldiers : I have been selected, at a meeting 
of the commissioned officers of this regiment, to bring to 
your notice a matter which I am sure will be gratifying to 
you all. You know of a custom adopted by a New York 
regiment, and wliich has prevailed elsewhere, and I know 
you will be pleased to adopt it. At a meeting of the 
commissioned officers the subject was mooted, and it was 
generally agreed that this regimental organization would 
not be full unless we had a daughter, at this time, when 
we all have such tender feelings. It was then unani- 
mously agreed, that out of respect and regard for that 
colonel whom we all esteem so highly, his own daughter, 
and his only daughter, should be selected. (Loud cheers.) 
I ask you, fellow-soldiers, to give tlii'ee cheers for your 
daughter, Lizzie Clausen Jones." 

The men gave three cheers, and the major led the 
"daughter of the regiment" up and down the line to 
introduce her, — a pretty httle miss, about ten years of 
age. 

Orders were issued on the night of the 16th to the 
Stoneham Light Infantry to march at once to this city, 
and report for duty to Col. Jones, of the Sixth Regiment. 
They arrived about twelve o'clock, under command of 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 147 

Capt. J. H. Dyke, with seventy-five men, a portion of 
whom were without guns. The Worcester Light Infantry, 
Capt. Pratt, which had also been ordered to report to 
CoL Jones, arrived at one o'clock, with seventy-nine men, 
a portion of them being without uniforms. All of the 
companies under Col. Jones changed their old guns for 
the new rifle muskets, which were sent from the Cam- 
bridge Arsenal. They Avere also furnished with over- 
coats, knapsacks, blankets, blue woollen drawers, and 
undershirts and woollen socks. This occupied consider- 
able time, a large number having no military equipments 
at all. 

A new company, raised by Mr. J. P. Richardson, of 
Cambridge, which was to have joined the Fifth Regiment 
as Company C, was ordered out, and attached to Colonel 
Jones' (Gth) regiment. They had not been organized, 
but they promptly answered the call, and a little past 
ten o'clock sixty of them marched to the State House 
(Boston) in citizens' dress, without arms, and bearing the 
American flag. An election of officers was held forthwith. 
James P. Richardson was chosen captain. They were 
furnished with equipments, and soon ready for duty. 

At three and a half o'clock the regiment, which had 
been enlarged by the addition of the Washington Guards 
of Boston, the Worcester Light Infantry, and the Stone- 
ham Light Infantry, making over six hundred men in all, 
was drawn up in line in Beacon Street, fronting the State 
House. Col. Jones, with a color-guard, was ordered 
upon the steps, when Governor Andrew, accompanied by 
Brigadier-General Butler, Adjutant-General Schouler, the 
aids of the Governor, and other military men, marched 
out to meet him. Col. Sargent, senior aid to the Gover- 
nor, bore the regimental flag. 

The Governor said that, as the official representative 
of the old Commonwealth, he came to bid farewell to this 
glorious command, previous to their departure on their 



148 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

patriotic mission. They liad been summoned, at their 
country's call, from the quiet associations of business 
and home, to a solemn and ultimately victorious war. 
They were called to fight in behalf of the country, its 
dignity and purity ; in behalf of the flag which had swept 
the seas in triumph, conveying right and honor all over 
the world. They were to repair to Washington, which 
had been built under the direction of " the Father of his 
country." They had been summoned suddenly ; the 
State government had done all in its power to provide for 
the necessities of the occasion, and they would bear with 
them its benefactions and prayers. Those behind cher- 
ished them in their heart of hearts, following them with 
their best wishes, and feeling confident that they would 
not return until they had done the utmost that patriotic 
men could do. Here he took the flag, and, after waving 
it to and fro, amid the applause of the assembled multi- 
tude, handed it to Col. Jones. 

Col. Jones took the flag, and, saying that he considered 
it the emblem of everything valuable upon earth, and that 
it would be so prized by his command, declared that, so 
help him God, he would never disgrace it. 

The regiment then marched to the armory of the Second 
Battalion, and the men were allowed an hour and a half 
for rest and supper. At half-past six o'clock they proceeded 
to the Worcester depot, and took the cars for New York 
about eight o'clock. An immense crowd surrounded the 
depot, and cheered the soldiers with great enthusiasm. 
The following is a list of the officers of this regiment : — 
Colonel, Edward F. Jones, of Lowell ; Lieutenant-Colonel, 
Walter Shattuck, of Groton ; Major, Benjamin F. Watson, 
of Lawrence ; Adjutant, Alpha B. Farr, of Lowell ; Quar- 
termaster, James Monroe, of Cambridge ; Paymaster, Ru- 
fus L. Plaisted, of Lowell ; Surgeon, Norman Smith, of 
Groton ; Chaplain, Charles Babbidge, of Pepperell. 

The Davis Guards, of Acton, attached to the Sixth 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 149 

Regiment, was made up of descendants of the minntc- 
men who, on the morning of the nineteenth of April, 
1775, were the first to march to Concord Bridge to oppose 
the British troops. 

A rather amusing anecdote is told of the " pop-corn 
man." When the Massachusetts Sixth Regiment was drawn 
up in line in front of the State House (Boston), he came 
round to minister to the wants of the regiment by selling 
them his pop-corn. He had not proceeded far, when he 
was suddenly overcome by an irresistible feeling of pat- 
riotism, threw away his basket, went and enlisted, donned 
the uniform, bid his mother a hasty adieu, and left that 
night with the Sixth Regiment for the national capital. 

The Third Regiment, Colonel D. W. Wardrop, which 
was quartered over the Old Colony depot, was ordered to 
hold itself in readiness to go by water to Fort Monroe, 
Va. A detachment of twenty men, from Plymouth, 
arrived, in addition to those which came on the 16th. 
The other companies in the regiment were enlarged by 
new arrivals and recruits, and the total number was 
raised to about two hundred men. They received their 
supplies at the State House, in the afternoon, and then 
proceeded to Faneuil Hall, where supper was prepared. 
At seven o'clock they proceeded to Central Wharf, and 
went on board the steamer S. R. Spaulding, Captain Sol- 
omon Howes, of the Baltimore line, which had been 
chartered to convey the regiment to Fort Monroe. A 
crowd was gathered in the vicinity, and received the dif- 
ferent companies with loud cheers. The steamer left 
shortly after eight o'clock. The following is a list of the 
officers of the regiment : — Colonel, David W. Wardrop,, 
of New Bedford ; Lieutenant-Colonel, Charles Raymond, 
of Plymouth ; Major, John H. Jennings, of New Bedford ; 
Adjutant, Richard A. Pierce, of New Bedford ; Paymaster, 
Sandford xilmy, of New Bedford ; Surgeon, Alexander S. 
Holmes, of New Bedford ; Surgeon's Mate, Joluisou Clark, 

13* 



150 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

of New Bedford ; Chaplain, Thomas E. St. John, of New 
Bedford. 

The Fourth Regiment, Colonel Packard, received an 
order to proceed to "Washington via Fall River route, at 
half-past six o'clock. It was quartered at Faneuil Hall, 
where it remained until afternoon. 

An order was issued for the discharge of Capt. Sprague, 
of the Hingham company, in consequence of his failure 
to respond to the requisition of the Governor, and Luther 
Stevenson was elected captain. The company was then 
ordered out, and in the afternoon Capt. Stevenson report- 
ed to Col. Packard with forty men. The captain of Com- 
pany H, Quincy, refused to order out his men, and they 
chose Thaddcus Newcomb captam. The company report- 
ed with twenty men. 

The regiment proceeded to the State House in the af- 
ternoon, and, after receiving supplies, they marched to the 
Old Colony djpot at seven o'clock, and took the cars for 
Fall River at eight o'clock. The following is a list of the 
officers of the regiment : — Colonel, Abner B. Packard, of 
Quincy ; Lieutenant-Colonel, Hawkes Fearing, Jr., of 
Hingham ; Major, Hiram C. Alden, of Randolph ; Adju- 
tant, Horace 0. Whittemore, of Braintree ; Quartermaster, 
Othniel Gilmore, of Raynham ; Paymaster, William S. 
Glover, of Quincy ; Surgeon, Henry M. Saville, of Quincy ; 
Surgeon's Mate, William D. Atkinson, Jr., of Boston. 

Detachments from the New England Guards and the 
Second Battalion performed escort duty for the regiments 
which left on the 17th. 

The Boston and Maine Railroad Corporation notified 
Governor Andrew, Governor Washburn, of Maine, and 
Governor Goodwin, of New Hampshire, that the railroad 
was open for the transportation of troops of war free of 
expense. 

The citizens of Concord, Mass., subscribed fifteen hun- 
dred and seventy -five dollars, on the evening of the seven- 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 151 

teeiith, to take care of the families of those who had been 
called into the service of their country. 

Only two days had elapsed since the President's proc- 
lamation calling for volunteers was issued, and we find 
three regiments from the " Old Bay State," raised, armed 
and equipped, and flying over the road, and being borne 
swiftly on " wind and wave," to the defence of the nation- 
al capital, and another soon to follow. 

Jefferson Davis issued a proclamation inviting applica- 
tions for letters of marque and reprisal. 

Virginia secession ordinance passed in secret session, 
60 to 53. Governor Letcher issued a proclamation in 
which he recognized the independence of the Confederate 
States. 

A large and excited secession meeting was held in 
Baltimore, Md. 

Great Union speech by Gen. Cass, at Detroit, Michigan. 



CHAPTER IX. 



Though factions rage, 



That glorious standard still shall wave, 
Hope of the world, through age on age. 
And only sink in Freedom's grave. 

LUNT. 

Apeil 18tli. The Eighth Regiment Massachusetts Vol- 
unteers, Colonel Munroe, left Boston for Washington, 
this being the last of the four regiments ordered. Having 
seen the three depart, great anxiety was manifested by 
these patriotic men, who were impatiently waiting for the 
order to start, which was finally given just after dinner. 

The line was formed in Merchants' Row shortly before 
two o'clock, in the presence of an immense crowd. The 
regiment, as it marched up State Street, was greeted with 
the greatest enthusiasm by the thousands who were gath- 
ered there. It proceeded immediately to the State House, 
where the ceremony of presenting the flag took place. 

The steps, streets, neighboring houses, and in fact every 
spot where a view of the scene could be had, was crowded. 
At about half-past three o'clock, the regiment being drawn 
up in line in Beacon Street, the Governor and aids, accom- 
panied by Gen. Butler, Gen. Schouler and others, went 
down the steps amid great cheering and waving of hand- 
kerchiefs. 

The flag was then presented to Colonel Munroe by the 
Governor, and he spoke as follows : — 

" Mr. Commander and Soldiers : — Yesterday you were 
citizens ; to-day you are soldiers. True to the fortunes 
of your flag, true to the inspirations of your own hearts, 
true to the undying examples of our fathers, you have 

152 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 153 

hurried up from the towns of Essex, all along from Bos- 
ton through Marblehead to Cape ^Vini. Fame to all the 
men of Massachusetts, to the brave soldiers of a heroic 
army ! You have come to be cradled anevt^ one night in 
Faneuil Hall, and from breathing once more the inspira- 
tions of American liberty, you have hurried forth this 
afternoon to follow wherever glory leads under the folds 
of the American banner! (Great applause.) From the 
bottom of my heart of hearts, standing here as the official 
representative of Massachusetts, I pay to you, soldiers, 
citizens, heroes, the homage of my most profound grati- 
tude. And the heart of all Massachusetts beats to-day in 
sympathy with every word I utter. There is but one 
sentiment throughout this beautiful domain of liberty. 
From the shores up to the tall hills of Berkshire, from 
the beating waves to the granite peaks, it speaks in unison 
with our common land and our common liberty in death- 
less echoes. (Applause.) 

Soldiers, go forth bearing that flag ; — 

" Forever float tliat standard sheet, — 

Where breathes tlie foe but falls before us ? 
With Freedom's soil beneath our feet, 
And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us." 

(Great applause.) 

We stay to defend the hearth-stones of Massachusetts. 
We remain to guard the homes of the wives and the 
children of your love ; and we swear, whatever fortune 
may befall you on the field, we will be true to them. 
(Applause.) I need not say to you, Mr. Commander, 
that we place entire confidence in your fidelity, courage 
and ability, in this noble band of men mustered under 
your command ; I need not say that in the gallant son of 
Massachusetts who stands by my side (Gen. Butler) we 
have all the confidence which Massachusetts men place in 
each other. I speak to you not as citizens and soldiers 
of Massachusetts, but as citizens and soldiers of the Amer- 



154 



THE EEBELLION iN THE UNITED STATES. 



ican Confederate Union. While we live that Union 
shall last ! (Tumultuous applause.) And until all of 
us and our posterity have tasted death, the government, 
the Union of the American people, the heritage of Wash* 
ington, shall be immortal ! (Applause.) Mr. Comman- 
der, go forth with the blessing of your country and the 
confidence of your fellow^citizens. Under the blessing of 
God, in a good and holy cause, with stout hearts and 
stalwart arms, go forth to victory ! On your shields be 
returned, or bring them with you. You are the advance 
guard of Massachusetts soldiers. As such I bid you God 
speed, and fare you wclL" 

Great applause and cheering followed the Governor's 
speech, and three cheers were given for General Butler. 

General Butler, standing by the side of the Governor, 
replied : ■— 

" Mr. Commander and Fellow-soldiers : — I desire to say 
one word to you. We are going to-night upon that duty 
which the people of this Commonwealth hold as sacred as 
their dearest wishes. We go to protect the constitutional 
liberty of the government, the strength of the Union, 
which under God we will maintain. (Applause.) I have 
the great pleasure of marching with you, and with you 
we will give a return to our friends, — - to his Excellency 
who has given us cheering words of encouragement, to 
the good people of the Commonwealth who are looking 
for our deeds ; — and indeed, sir, we will make it true, ^e 
will either bring back our shields or be brought back 
upon them. (Applause.) Sons of a Puritan ancestry, 
believing in the providence of Almighty God, as he was 
with our fathers, so may he be with us in this strife for 
the right, for the good of all, for that great country of 
human freedom, which if it sinks in blood the liberty of 
the human race goes out forever. We go to maintain 
that liberty, and when we prove recreant to that trust, 
may the God of battles prove our enemy in the hour of 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



155 



our utmost need ! Soldiers, we march to-night ; and I 
say for you all, to the good people of Massachusetts, fare 
you well. We only ask their prayers, we have everything 
else ; and we go forth to say to those who would break 
down this confederacy, that in this State there is but one 
sentiment, — " The Union, now and forever, one and in- 
separable ! " (Applause.) 

The enthusiasm and excitement were uncontrolled, and 
cheers without number were given for the regiment, for 
Gen. Butler, and for the Governor. The line of march 
was then taken up for Faneuil Hall, and along the whole 
route the enthusiasm was continuous. 

The regiment took final leave of Faneuil Hall shortly 
before half-past five o'clock, and, preceded by the Brigade 
Band, proceeded through Merchants' Row, State, Washing- 
ton and Oak Streets, to the freight depot, No. 2, of the 
Worcester Railroad, on Albany Street. 

On arriving at the depot a detachment of policemen 
and Lancers kept the crowd out, and the regiment prompt- 
ly entered the depot and went on board the trahi. The 
crowd was immense, and exceeded in numbers that of 
the day before which gathered to bid farewell to Colonel 
Jones' regiment, extending for some distance along on 
each side of the track. As. the long train started, at six 
o'clock, the Brigade Band struck up " Hail Columbia," 
and the cheering was renewed. The troops thrust their 
arms out the windows, and many in the crowd shook 
hands with all whom they could reach. 

The scene was more inspiring and exciting than any 
other we had witnessed in connection with the departure 
of troops. It was also the largest of the regiments that 
had left, numbering full eight hundred men. 

Brigadier General Butler and staff accompanied the 
regiment. The following are the regimental officers : — 
Lieutenant-Colonel, Timothy Munroe, Lynn ; Major, Israel 
W. Wallis, Beverly ; Adjutant, Edward W. Hinks, Lynn ; 



156 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Quartermaster, Samuel T. Payson, Newburyj^ort ; Surgeon, 
David F. Drew, Lynn ; Surgeon's Mate, Warren Tapley, 
Lynn. 

The Sixth and Fourth Massachusetts Eegiments arrived 
in New York abou^ sunrise on the morning of the 18th. 
One regiment breakfasted at the Astor House and at the 
St. Nicholas Hotel, and the other at the Metropolitan. 
At Eleven o'clock, after refreshments, they marched down 
Broadway. They were greeted by cheers and other 
demonstrations of applause by thousands. Flags floated 
from every house and store. All the teams, horses and 
posts had the American flag attached, and nearly every 
person carried one in his hand. The flag presented by 
Governor Andrew was cheered the whole length of the 
route, and " God bless you ! " was frequently uttered. 
Gen. James Appleton, of Ipswich, seventy-six years old, 
remarked with great emotion, " Those boys won't run. I 
commanded a regiment of them in the last war." Cheers 
for the Old Bay State were demanded and enthusiastically 
given at every step. They marched to the Jersey ferry, 
where "there was a perfect ovation. The Sixth embarked at 
twelve o'clock, and took the train direct for Washington. 
They arrived at Jersey City at twenty minutes past 
twelve o'clock, and were received with the wildest demon- 
strations of enthusiasm. As the tram left the depot, 
cheer on cheer rent the air, and many were the promises 
made to them that " Three thousand Jersey Blues would 
be with the sons of the Old Bay State in one week's 
time, to show their loyalty to the Constitution and the 
Union." 

From the public buildings and private dwellings floated 
the stars and stripes. Three times three cheers were 
given in honor of the Old Bay State, that she was the 
first in the field. 

They arrived at Philadelphia in the early part of the 
evening, took supper at the Continental Hotel, and were 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 157 

quartered for the night mainly at the Girard House. The 
cheering was incessant along the route. 

Harper's Ferry arsenal was destroyed by Lieut. Jones, 
to prevent its falling into the hands of the secessionists. 
Lieut. Jones and his command of forty-three men made 
their escape. He says, as the federal troops at Harper's 
Ferry rushed across the Potomac bridge, the people 
rushed into the arsenal, and he believes a large number 
perished, as repeated exjDlosions occurred. He saw the 
light of the burning buildings many miles in his retreat. 
The lieutenant, having been advised that a force of 
twenty-five hundred troops were ordered by the Governor 
to take possession of Harper's Ferry, and finding his 
position untenalile, under the direction of the War De- 
partment he destroyed all the munitions of war, the 
armory, arsenal and buildings. He withdrew his com- 
mand under the cover of night, and almost in the pres- 
ence of twenty-five hundred troops. He lost three men, 
taken by the rebels. Fifteen thousand stand of arms were 
destroyed. His command made a forced march of thirty 
miles, from Harper's Ferry to Hagerstown, Md. They 
were enthusiastically received. 

Governor Hicks, of Maryland, issued a proclamation, as- 
suring the people that no troops would be sent from that 
State, unless it was for the defence of the national capital. 

April 19th. The Massachusetts Sixth Regiment was 
assailed by a mob in its passage through Baltimore en 
route for Washington. Two Massachusetts soldiers killed, 
and several wounded, — the first blood shecl in the " Re- 
bellion of 1861." The nineteenth of April, the anniver- 
sary of the battle of Lexington and Concord, — that ever- 
memorable day in our nation's history. The first Amer- 
ican Revolution was inaugurated by Massachusetts blood 
on the nineteenth of April, 1775, and the second Amer- 
ican revolution was inaugurated by Massachusetts blood 
on the nineteenth of April, 1861. 

14 



158 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



Eighty-six years ago couriers were sent through the 
towns and villages of Middlesex County to rouse the peo- 
ple in resistance to British tyranny. On this nineteenth 
of April, 1861, also, couriers were sent through the same 
district to call out the Fifth and Seventh Regiments, and 
were received with the ringing of bells, the firing of can- 
non, and the assembling of soldiers as brave, true and 
prompt, as those of the olden time. 

On the morning of the nineteenth, at the President 
Street depot of the Philadelphia Railroad, in Baltimore, 
an immense crowd assembled, in anticipation of the ar- 
rival of a large number of troops from New York and 
Massachusetts. Shortly after eleven o'clock the train 
from Philadelphia, comprising twenty-nine cars, arrived 
at the depot. Without disembarking the soldiers from 
the train, the several cars had horses attached, and about 
nine were drawn along Pratt Street to the Camden sta- 
tion, the first six without any mai-ked objection. For 
some reason the horses attached to the seventh car be- 
came restive, and were taken from the car at the Pratt 
Street bridge, and the car moved without their aid to 
within a short distance of Gay Street, between Gay and 
Frederick Street. A number of laborers were engaged 
in repairing the bed of the street, and just at the mo- 
ment the car reached Gay Street they were engaged in 
removing the cobble stones from the principal portion 
of the street. Some thirty or forty men assembled at 
this point, ha^^'ing followed the car from the depot, and, 
with cheers for Davis and the confederacy, hurled bitter 
taunts at the Northern Black Republicans, as they termed 
them. 

This continued for several minutes. When the horses 
were again attached- and the car moved off, it was pro- 
posed to stone it. Before the car had gone twenty yards 
almost every window was broken, and a portion of the 
crowd followed, hurling paving-stones. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 159 

The eighth car was treated in the same manner, but 
the ninth car, apparently being empty, or at least no 
person being visible, escaped only with one stone. The 
crowd exulted in their work, exclaiming that Black 
Republicans should not pass through Maryland. A 
lapse of five minutes succeeded, a numljer of respectable 
persons meanwhile urging the crowd to tear up the track. 
After the first train passed, one was observed on the Pratt 
Street bridge, when the anchors were dragged on the 
track at the corner of Gay Street, and part of the track 
taken up. Observing this, the cars were turned back to 
President Street depot, and the troops disembarked and 
prepared to march through the streets. Mayor Brown 
with a number of police appeared at their head and led 
the way. They came away at a brisk pace, and when 
they reached Centre Market Square, an immense con- 
course of people closed in behind them, and commenced 
stoning them. When they reached Gay Street, where the 
track, had been taken up, a large crowd of men, armed 
with paving-stones, showered them on their heads with 
such force that several of them were knocked down in 
the ranks. After lying a few minutes they crowded 
into the stores on Pratt Street. At the corner of South 
and Pratt Streets, a man fired a pistol into the ranks of 
the militia, when those in the rear ranks immediately 
wheeled and fired upon their assailants, and several were 
wounded. The guns of the soldiers that had fallen 
wounded were seized and fired upon the ranks with fatal 
effect. Li two or three instances, after reaching Culvert 
Street, the troops succeeded in checking their pursuers 
by rapid fire, which brought down two or three, and 
were not much molested until they reached Howard 
Street, where another large crowd was assembled. Some 
stones were thrown at them, but their guns were not 
loaded, and they passed on, through a dense crowd, down 
Howard Street towards the depot. 



160 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The scene on Pratt Street was of a most startling 
character ; the wounded soldiers, three in number, were 
taken up carefully, and carried to places of safety by 
citizens. Along the street at the Camden station, where 
trains leave for Washington, there was assembled a large 
detachment of police under direction of Marshal Kane. 
It soon appeared that orders were given to clear the 
tracks near the main depot building. This was done, and 
soon after a large passenger car of tlie Philadelphia Rail- 
road came up at a rapid rate, filled witli soldiers. This 
car was soon followed by about sixteen more, all occu- 
pied by troops. Upon inquiry it was ascertained they 
consisted of the Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts In- 
fantry, in all eleven companies, with an aggregate of 
eight hundred and sixty men. 

As soon as the train arrived, some of the troops were 
compelled to change cars, when they were hooted at by 
the crowd, which made no overt act. Several young men 
appeared at one of the cars and displayed revolvers, 
whereupon the captain of one of the companies drew his 
sword and declared he would protect his men. Many ex- 
pected the train would start immediately, but it did not 
move until half-past twelve, a delay being occasioned by 
the fact that President Garrett had received information 
that a large crowd of excited men had determined to tear 
up the track and blow up the bridges, and thereby pre- 
vent the passage of the trains. 

In a few minutes after the train left, a discharge of 
firearms attracted the attention of the crowd to the 
corner of Pratt and Howard Streets, where a body of 
infantry from one of the Northern States, about one 
hundred and fifty strong, was seen rapidly approaching 
'the depot, and no doubt anxious to reach the cars. The 
excitement was beyond description, and a man displaying 
a flag of the Confederate States seemed to be the rallying 
point for the people. Some assaulted the infantry with 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 161 

stones, when a number of the latter discharged their 
muskets. At least twenty shots were fired, but as far 
as learned no person was injured. Whilst they were 
entering the cars, a crowd of young men gave them 
several volleys of bricks and stones, some of which de- 
molished a car window, whereupon three or four muskets 
were pointed through the car windows and fired, but no 
one was injured. The train with the second detachment 
left at a quarter past one, being stoned as they left. 

The city was in tremendous excitement. Martial law 
was proclaimed, and the military rushed to their armories. 
Parties were roaming the streets armed with guns and 
pistols. Stores closed and business suspended. Every- 
body in a state of dread. A party of the mob rushed 
into the telegraph office and cut the wires, but they were 
soon repaired. Squads paraded the streets, fully armed, 
on the lookout for military from the North. A town 
meeting was called in Monument Square, at four o'clock 
in the afternoon, which was attended by an immense 
crowd. The State flag was hoisted. Mayor Brown said 
he was opposed to the call of the President, in spirit and 
object, but as Maryland was still in the Union, he had 
exerted himself to his utmost ability to protect the pas- 
sage of troops through the city. He, however, felt that 
this should not be, and had telegraphed to the President 
urging that no more troops be sent through. 

Gov. Hicks was sent for, and said he was opposed to 
secession, but the right of revolution could not be dis- 
puted. 

Speeches were made by Messrs. Teakle, Wallis, "W. P. 
Preston and others, justifying the people of Baltimore, 
and declaring that no Northern troops should invade 
their soil to subjugate and make war on their brethren 
of the South. 

Late in the evening, General Butler telegraphed Gov- 
ernor Andrew the intelligence of liis own arrival, with 

14* 



162 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES, 



the command of Col. Muuroe, at Philadelphia ; confirming 
the rumor that Col. Jones had been attacked in the streets 
of Baltimore, that two Massachusetts men were killed, 
and several wounded, and adds, — "Troops fought man- 
fully. No man offered to run. They bore the attack 
with the utmost patience, until prominent citizens of 
Baltimore told them to fire. They did so. Part of the 
mob responded with fire, the rest scattered. AU have 
arrived at Washington except six injured, who are well 
cared for at Baltimore." 

A dispatch from Washington, April 19, says : — 
" The Massachusetts troops arrived this evening, and 
are quartered in the Capitol. Several of them were 
wounded in Baltimore and sent to the infirmary, while 
others who were less injured in that city are on duty with 
their comrades." 

At half-past two o'clock, a. m., the following dispatch 
was sent by His Excellency the Governor to the Mayor 
of Baltimore : — 

Executive Department, Council Chamber, j 
Boston, April 20, 1861. \ 

" To His Honor the Mayor: — I pray you to cause 
the bodies of our Massachusetts soldiers dead in Baltimore 
to be immediately laid out, preserved with ice, and ten- 
derly sent forward by express to me. All expenses will 
be paid by this Commonwealth. 

" John A. Andrew, 

" Governor of Massachusetts." 

At half-past nine o'clock, a. m., after a correspondence 
between the Governor and Messrs. Gardner Brewer & 
Co. of this city, which reflects honor on the intelligent 
benevolence of that firm, they sent the following dispatch 
to their correspondents in Baltimore : — 

^^ Messrs. Mills, Mai/hew Sf Co., Baltimore: 

" We telegraph to you at the request and in behalf of 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 163 

Governor Andrew of tliis State. Will you co-operate 
with the Mayor of Baltimore in securing respectful treat- 
ment to the corpses of our dead soldiers, and their being 
carefully forwarded packed in ice, and particularly we 
wish you to secure the very best medical attendance and 
careful nursing to our wounded. We will be responsible 
to you for all expenses. Nurses can be sent from here if 
desired. Gardner Brewer & Co." 

At noon the following answer was received from Messrs. 
Mills, Mayhew & Co : — 

" We have your telegram, and will attend carefully to 
your instructions. Nothing is wanted which we cannot 
furnish." 

At two o'clock, P. M., this answer was received by the 
Governor from the Mayor : — 

^'•Hon. John A. Andreiv, Governor of Massachusetts : 

" Sir : — No one deplores the sad events of yesterday in 
this city more deeply than myself, but they were inevi- 
table. Our people \aewed the passage of armed troops to 
another State through the streets as an invasion of our 
soil, and could not be restrained. The authorities exerted 
themselves to the best of their ability, but with only par- 
tial success. Governor Hicks was present, and concurs 
in all my views as to the proceedings now necessary for 
our protection. 

" When are these scenes to be ceased ? Are we to have 
a war of sections ! God forbid ! 

" The bodies of the Massachusetts soldiers could not be 
sent on to Boston as you requested, all communication 
between this city and Philadelphia by railroad and with 
Boston steamers having ceased ; but they have been 
placed in cemented coffins, and will be placed with proper 
funeral ceremonies in the mausoleum of Green Mount 
Cemetery, where they shall be retamed until further di- 



164 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



rectious arc received from you. The wounded are tenderly 
cared for. I appreciate your offer, but Baltimore will 
claim it as her right to pay all expenses incurred. 
" Very respectfully, 

" Your obedient servant, 

" Geo. Wm. Browt^t, 

" Mayor of Baltimore." 

To this the following reply was returned by the 
Governor : — ' 

" To His Honor George Win. Broivn, Mayor of Baltimore : 
" Dear Sir : — I appreciate your kind attention to our 
wounded and our dead, and trust that at the earliest 
moment the remains of our fallen will return to us. 

"I am overwhelmed with surprise that a peaceful march 
of American citizens over the highway to the defence of 
our common Capitol should be deemed aggressive by 
Baltimoreans. Through New York the march was trium- 
phal. 

" John A. Andrew, Governor of Massachusetts." 

Of the citizens of Baltimore, there were seven killed 
and many wounded. Mr. E,. W. Davis was shot dead 
near the Camden station ; the others kiUed were John Mc- 
Ghan, Sebastian Gies, Patrick Clark, B. Thomas Miles, 
Wm. C. Maloney, W. Reed. Wounded, Patrick Griffin, 
fatally, others unknown. 

The Massachusetts soldiers killed in Baltimore were 
A. 0. Whitney and Luther C. Ladd, of Lowell. 

Wounded and left in Baltimore — Sergeant Ames of the 
Lowell City Guards, slightly ; private E. Coburn, of the 
same place, shot in the head, not fatal ; private Michael 
Green of Lawrence, slightly ; S. H. Needham, skull frac- 
tured (since died) ; another, name unknown, at the 
infirmary, badly wounded ; H. W. Danforth and Edward 
Cooper were shot in the thigh ; also Capt. J. H. Dike, of 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 165 

Company C, Stoneham Light Infantry, received a ball 
wound in the head, and was left at Baltimore. 

The following are the names of the wounded who pro- 
ceeded on to Washington : — 

Company C, Stoneham Light Infantry. Henry Dyke, 
ball wound in the leg. 

W. H. Young, hit by a brickbat on the head. 

Stephen Flanders, bad wound on the head by a brick- 
bat. 

H. Perry, wounded on the knee by brickbat. 

John Postier, wounded on the head with a stone. 

C. G. Gill, bad wound on the knee from the breech of 
a gun. 

Joshua W. Pennall, knocked in the head by a brickbat, 

John Kempton, several bad bruises on the legs and 
arms from paving stones. 

Morris Meade, wounded in the leg by a brickbat. 

Lieut. James Rowe, two side cuts in the head from 
brickbats. 

Daniel Brown, third finger of the left hand shot off. 

Company D, Loioell. C. H. Chandler, wounded in 
the head by a brick. (Pop-corn man.) 

Company I, Lawrence. Y. G. Gingrass, shot through 
the arm. 

Alonzo Joy, two fingers shot off. 

Sergeant G. J. Dorall, cut on the head with a brickbat. 

Company D. W. H. Samson, struck in the eye and 
on the back of the head with paving stones, with other 
severe bruises on the body. 

Charles Stinson of Company C, of Lowell, had nose 
broken with a brick. 

Company D. Ira TV. Moore, badly wounded on left 
arm with brickbat. 

Geo. Alexander, back of the head and neck badly cut 
with a brick. 

The names of the brave soldiers who fell in this heroic 



166 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



oxiDedition will stand on our nation's history parallel 
with those of the Revolution, and be immortalized with 
the sacred memories which cluster around the men of 
Concord and Lexington. 

It is stated that one of the Massachusetts soldiers who 
was mortally wounded and bled to death, while in the 
last struggles stood erect, raised his right hand toward 
heaven, and exclaimed, — '■''All hail to the stars and 
stripes ! " and instantly expired. 

April 21. Thus far it appears that the Sixth Regiment, 
under Col. Jones, has arrived in Washington, forcing its 
way through Baltimore. The Fourth Regiment under 
Col. Packard, and the Third under Col. Wardrop, were 
safely landed at Fortress Monroe. The Eighth Regiment 
under Col. Munroe of Lynn, accompanied by Brig. Gen- 
eral Butler, has reached Annapolis, by steamers from 
Philadelphia, en route for Washington, the railway com- 
munication having been temporarily interrupted. 

Having followed them to their destination, we leave 
them here, and take a general survey of the whole coun- 
try. 

A diabolical attempt was made to poison the Fourth 
Regiment while on board the " State of Maine " at New 
York, previous to leaving for Fortress Monroe, on the 
eighteenth, by sending poisoned brandy on board. One 
died, and four or five others suffered very much from its 
influence, but recovered. The perpetrator of the outrage 
is unknown. 

April 19th. The President issued a proclamation or- 
dering the blockade of the ports of South Carolina, Geor- 
gia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, 
and declaring that if any person, acting under the pre- 
tended authority of said States, shall molest a vessel of 
the United States, or the persons or cargo on board, such 
person shall be deemed guilty of piracy. 

General Scott issued an order extending the military 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 167 

department of Wasliington so as to include the District 
of Columbia and the States of Maryland, Delaware and 
Pennsylvania, and appointing Major-General Patterson to 
the command. 

Governor Hicks, of Maryland, and Mayor Brown, of 
Baltimore, informed the President that it was not possi- 
ble for soldiers to pass through Baltimore unless they 
fought their way. President Lincoln replied that no 
more troops would pass through the city for the present, 
provided they were allowed to pass armed around the city 
unmolested. 

The city council of Philadelphia appropriated one million 
dollars to equip volunteers and support their families. 

Governor Buckingham, of Connecticut, issued a procla- 
mation calling for the Second Regiment of volunteers. 
Fourteen thousand dollars were subscribed at Norwich, 
for the families of volunteers. 

Rhode Island Marine Ai-tillery arrived in New York 
with six pieces of artillery, and left same day for Wash- 
ington. Governor Hicks, of Maryland, telegraphed Gov- 
ernor Sprag-ue, of Rhode Island, as follows : — 

Governor Hicks to Governor Sprague : — "I understand 
you are about to proceed to Washington with the Rhode 
Island regiment. I advise you not to take them through 
Baltimore, and thus save trouble." 

Governor Sprague to Governor Hicks : — " The Rhode 
Island Regiment are going to fight, and it matters not 
whether they fight in Baltimore or Washington." 

The war feeling was mcreasing. New companies were 
concentrating. Seventeen hundred volunteers, from Ohio, 
arrived in Pittsburg, Pa., en route for Washington. From 
Springfield, 111., we learn that forty-nine companies had 
been accepted, and tenders of as many more had been 
made. All the railroad companies of the State had vol- 
unteered to carry accepted companies to the place of ren- 
dezvous free of charge. 



168 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



In Chicago, two thousand men bad signed the muster- 
roll. The Zouave regiment was fast filling up, and the 
enthusiasm was intense. 

A dispatch from Harrisburg, Pa., April 18th, says : — 
" A large number of companies liavc arrived, and the 
camp, forming a mile above the city, is alive with excite- 
ment to-night. The whole population are in the streets. 
Two companies are quartered in the legislative halls. 
There will be eight thousand troops here by Saturday. 
Every train brings hundreds. A sj)ecial messenger has 
been sent to Washington for arms." 

It will be remembered that only three days have 
elapsed since the President issued his proclamation call- 
ing for troops. A correspondent writes from Washington, 
under date April 19th : — " Twenty-four companies, aver- 
aging one hundred men, have already been mustered into 
the service of the government. Five hundred Pennsylva- 
nia troops arrived this afternoon. Several were hurt 
with stones while passing through Baltimore. They are 
quartered in the Capitol. 

" The old hall of the House of Representatives, where 
Clay, Adams, Webster, Calhoun, McDufiie and hundreds 
of others, eminent in public life, deliberated, is now turned 
into barracks. Company E (Washington) are quar- 
tered in the handsome room on Revolutionary Claims. 
Two of the Pennsylvania companies are quartered in the 
luxurious committee-rooms of the north wing. The sol- 
diers had Brussels carpets, marble wash-stands, and all 
that sort of thing, but seemed to think they should prefer 
to all this to have a bite of something to eat, as they had 
tasted nothing since a hasty early breakfast at Harrisburg. 
They had suffered, too, miserably from thirst on the way, 
and, at one station where they stopped, were glad to 
quench their thirst in a pool of muddy water standing in 
a field. This, with the hostile reception received at Balti- 
more, gave them a pretty rude taste of soldiers' life. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 169 

They took all in good spirits, except the failure in the 
commissariat department at their quarters. Some bacon 
sides had been served out in the basement (Senate kitch- 
en refectory), where a fire had been started, and some of 
the soldiers were struggling, with a dull knife, to chip off 
a rasher, but nothing seemed to be in readiness for the 
hungry men." 

In New York city all classes were aroused. The First 
Regiment of Zouaves bound themselves by a solemn oath 
to march through Baltimore. 

On the 19th the Trinity Church steeple was graced 
with a starry flag, amidst the uproarious cheers of thou- 
sands in Broadway and Wall Streets. The chimes pealed 
out the " Star-Spangled Banner" and "Hail Columbia." 

The celebrated Seventh Regiment, of New York, Col. 
Lefferts, numbering nine hundred and ninety-one men, 
left New York for Washington. They received a contin- 
uous ovation all through New Jersey. Cannon were fired 
and houses illuminated. They reached Philadelphia late 
at night. The streets were alive with people to witness 
their arrival. They proceeded on their way, and arrived 
at Annapolis on the 21st, where they were joined by the 
Massachusetts Eighth, with Gen. Butler. 

Early on the morning of the 24th, the New York Sev- 
enth and Massachusetts Eighth Regiments marched from 
Annapolis, and arrived at the Junction, a distance of 
nineteen miles, at ten o'clock on the morning of the 25th, 
and, at four o'clock in the afternoon, left in the train for 
Washington. 

To give those of our readers who have never witnessed 
such a scene some faint idea of the hasty greetings and 
hurried farewells immediately preceding the departure 
of a regiment, we subjoin the following from a New York 
paper. It may provoke a smile, and serve to lighten a 
dark jiicture. 

" At about a quarter to three o'clock a general hurry 

15 



170 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



and movement thronghoiit the rooms indicated that the 
time for muster was near at hand. The officers moved 
faster and seemed more preoccupied. Col. Lefferts bhmt- 
ly declined the offer of an escort from the Zouave corps, 
on the ground that it should have been made before, and 
that he had now no time to arrange for it. Recruits 
were told that it was too late to consider their cases now, 
and that they must report at some volunteer station. 
The members began to file off into their company rooms, 
from which outsiders were now excluded. Tardy arrivals 
were greeted enthusiastically, in the same spirit that the 
Biblical shepherd rejoiced more over the one sheep he 
im.agined lost than over the flocks he had safely penned. 
' Wliy, here's Pete ! ' ' I thought you wasn't coming ; ' 
' Bully for you, old buffer ! ' were the rough welcomes 
shouted to new-comers. Yonder are a party of friends, 
some of whom are to go with the regiment, while the 
others stay at home, and you may hear the request, — 
' Kill one of the scoundrels for me, Billy ; ' the advice, 
' Take care of yourself, old fellow, and I'll see to things 
at home ; ' the promise, ' I'll come back promoted, 
father, or I won't come back at all;' and then, in a 
woman's voice, ' God bless you ! I shall think of you and 
pray for you all the tune. It's very hard to, but ' — and 
then a few tears, low whisperings and a kiss. The most 
thoughtless began to grow serious now, and the most 
frivolous became earnest and anxious. 

" Then, as the soldiers began to engage more in conver- 
sation with each other, various interesting circumstances 
in connection with their departure began to be mentioned. 
Here were several post-office clerks, who had been granted 
leave of absence, with full pay, for the war ; clerks in va- 
rious mercantile houses had the same leave, with the 
same conditions. A Mr. Murphy had sent two sons and 
two employees with the Seventh, and armed them with fine 
revolvers. Other soldiers had been presented with revol- 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 171 

vers, also, and a general display of five and six-shooters 
ensued. This man had been married only two days be- 
fore, but his wife said ' Go,' and he came. Another was 
engaged to be married on Sunday, but the wedding was 
postponed three months, that he might serve his country. 
' I may die a bachelor yet, you know,' he lightly 
remarked, as he told of the circumstances. ' I haven't 
had time to arrange my business, for I only received 
notice that we should move at ten o'clock, to-day,' re- 
marked another, ' but I'm here, my hearties.' ' I won- 
der will all the boys turn out ? ' said a sergeant ; ' a day 
and a half is short work, eh ? ' ' By George,' laughed 
another, adjusting his sword-belt, ' I came up here to bid 
you good-by, but I couldn't stand it, so I jumped into 
these things, and will go along. Didn't have much time 
to bid the folks farewell you bet.' ' What do you think 
the Governor said to me ? ' asked a young recruit ; ' why, 
he said " Remember Sumter ! " and said he'd like to go 
too.' ' That's like Fan,' shouted another ; ' she said 
she'd go if she were a man. Do you think I'd back out 
after that ? ' ' How are you, my boy ? You didn't back 
out, did you ? ' Then a long shake-hands, and the re- 
sponse, ' Nor I didn't want to.' ' Here's a bouquet 
Mollie sent. Look at that, — " May peace soon bring yon 
back to me." ' ' Mother gave me this little flag. God 
bless her ! I'll never disgrace it.' ' What do you think 
of that for a badge ? (displaying a beautifully-worked 
rosette); that goes over my heart.' Breaking up these 
conversations there came, every once in a while, cheers 
upon cheers for the Seventh and for the Union, and 
snatches of national songs, shouted with hearty, untrem- 
ulous voices." 

On the 20th the Virginia secessionists, in Richmond, 
had a great rejoicing over the fall of Port Sumter. They 
claim to have had three thousand in procession, hoisted 
the Southern Confederacy flag, fired a hundred guns, 



172 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



and had exulting speeches from Governor Letcher, Attor- 
ney-General Tucker, and other magnates. On motion of 
John M. Patton, they enthusiastically 

" Resolved, That we rejoice with high, exultant, heart- 
felt joy at the triumph of the Southern Confederacy over 
the accursed government at Washington in the capture of 
Fort Sumter." 

Many of the houses were brilliantly illuminated from 
attic to cellar ; flags of the Southern Confederacy were 
abundantly displayed from roofs and windows ; the streets 
blazed with bonfires ; the sky lighted with showers of pyro- 
technics ; and, until midnight, crowd after crowd found 
speakers to address them from balconies and street-corners. 

An immense meeting, called by Virginia citizens at Mo- 
bile, took place on the 18th, with great enthusiasm and 
rejoicing over the secession of Virginia. At Montgomery, 
same day, a meeting of the Virginians, Louisianians, 
Tennesseeans and Kentuckians was held, to rejoice over 
the glorious news from Virginia. One hundred guns 
were fired, the city illuminated, and general joy expressed 
that the revolution was complete. Nearly all the naval 
officers of Virginia had sent in their resignations to 
Washington. The confederate flag was raised at Point 
of Rocks, in Maryland, on the 19th. The rebellion in 
Virginia was formidable. Northern men, with their fami- 
lies, were expelled, leaving everything, narrowly escaping 
with their lives. So bitter was the feeling against them 
that many were compelled to leave for expressing Union 
sentiments. 

Governor Dennison, of Ohio, appointed Capt. George 
B. McClellan, formerly of the army, major-general and 
commander-in-chief of the Ohio State troops. This gen- 
tleman is a graduate of West Point, served with marked 
distinction during the Mexican war, and was one of 
three officers sent by our government to watch the cam- 
paign at the Crimea. 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 173 

Steamship Star of the West captured by rebels, under 
Col. Van Dorn, off Indianola, and taken to New Orleans 
as a prize to the Confederate States. 

April 20tli. A mob from Baltimore destroyed the 
railroad bridges on the line to Philadelphia. All the 
bridges between Baltimore and Havre de Grace were 
destroyed or rendered useless. The trains on the night 
of the 20th went through safely to the bridge at Canton 
(three miles from Baltimore), where a crowd lying in 
wait fired pistols at the engineer, who stopped the train. 
The crowd compelled the passengers to leave the cars, 
and, taking possession of them, forced the engineer to 
take them back to the Gunpowder River bridge. Here 
the train stopped. The crowd set fire to the draw of the 
bridge, and remained until that portion was burnt. They 
then returned to the Bush River bridge, and set the 
draw on fire. Next they went to the Canton bridge and 
burned that. The train then conveyed its passengers to 
Baltimore. 

A body of carpenters and workmen, armed, were sent 
from Harrisburg to repair the bridges on the Northern 
and Central Road, which, conjointly with men sent from 
Philadelphia, and some Massachusetts soldiers, soon put 
the road in good order. 

Gosport Navy Yard, opposite Norfolk, Va., was burned 
by United States officers, to prevent its falling into the 
hands of the secessionists. United States ships Pennsyl- 
vania, seventy-four guns ; Delaware, seventy-four ; Colum- 
bus, seventy-four ; steam-frigate Merrimac, forty-four ; 
frigate Raritan, forty-four ; frigate Columbia, forty-four ; 
sloop Germantown, twenty-two ; sloop Plymouth, twenty- 
two ; brig Dolphin, eight ; and the frigate United States 
(in ordinary), in the harbor, were scuttled and set on 
fire. The value of property destroyed is estimated at 
fifty million dollars. 

The steamer Yankee reports arrived at Norfolk, on the 

15* 



174 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES, 

afternoon of the ITtli, and, finding a movement afloat to 
seize her, proceeded to the navy yard and placed herself 
under the guns of the yard. 

On the 18th the custom-hoixse officers came to seize her, 
but the commander of the yard refused to yield her. 

On the 20th the Pawnee, under Commodore Paulding, 
arrived at Fort Monroe, took aboard the Third Massachu- 
setts Regiment, and proceeded to the navy yard, where 
the officers had commenced destroying the public property 
to prevent its falling into the hands of the enemy. 

They had scuttled all the ships, the Cumberland being 
the only one in commission ; they cut dowu the shears, &c. 
Preparations were made to make demolition complete. 

The Pawnee, with the Cumberland in tow, assisted by 
the Yankee, started, and, after passing the navy yard, sent 
up a signal rocket, when a match was applied, and in 
an instant ships, ship-houses and store-houses were m 
flames. 

So rapid were the flames that Commander Rogers, of 
the navy, and Captain Wright, of the engineers, were 
unable, to reach the poiiit of rendezvous, where a boat was 
waiting for them, and wore left behind. Large quanti- 
ties of provisions, cordage, machinery, and buildings of 
great value, were destroyed. The burning of the navy 
yard was done by Union men, who were in the majority, 
but comparatively unarmed. 

When the Pawnee came up, the Cumberland and Mer- 
rimac lay broadside to, their guns loaded, thinking she 
was in the hands of the rebels. Similar opinion prevailed 
on board the Pawnee, and she was ready for action. The 
cheering aboard the vessels and on shore showed how 
satisfactory was the answer to our hail from the Cumber- 
land, that she was the United States steamer Pawnee. 

The Union men employed in the navy yard cut down 
the flag-staff so that it could not lie used by the rebels. 
The guns in the navy yard were spiked. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 175 



The following letter from a private in the New Bedford 
company at Fort Monroe, describing the part he took in 
the destruction of the Norfolk na^y-jard property, will be 
read with interest. The writer is well known, a rising 
lawyer of ability, and distinguished for his many virtues 
of character and patriotism : — 

" And so, brother——, I am a soldier, and have already 
encountered a soldier's dangers. Let my enlistment and 
the journey here pass. Suffice it to say that I arrived 
here on Saturday, about eleven, a. m. . . . We were 
exhausted with poor fare, sea-sickness, want of sleep, and 
bad air. We expected to remain here and defend this 
fort. At about five in the afternoon, as we were expect- 
ing quarters and a good night's sleep, we were summoned 
into line, and ordered to the Norfolk navy yard, which 
was in immediate danger ; and we were to defend it 
against the Virginians, or retake it if it had been captured 
by the Southern troops collected there. We had about a 
hundred regulars, the marines of the Pawnee. We, un- 
disciplined and ill-conditioned as we were, went on board 
the Pawnee, just from Charleston. We trod for the first 
time a man-of-war — and her guns looked deathly. Our 
friends of the Fourth Regiment felt that they should see 
few of us again. We received our twenty-five cartridges 
and percussion caps apiece, and loaded our guns without 
putting the caps on. At or near Norfolk, we passed the 
frowning batteries of the secessionists. The marines had 
the cannon pushed forward, all ready to return a fire at 
any moment. Hot shot from the batteries could have 
sunk us ; but they did not open, and we went safely on. 
" We approached the navy yard alwut half-past eight in 
the evening. We were serious, but calm, and were 
ready for a fight. I held my percussion cap in my hand. 
We knew not whether the navy yard was in possession of 
our friends or enemies. But we found that it was still 
ours. As we came within almost pistol-shot of the Cum- 



176 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

berland there, our boatswain saw that her men were just 
applymg the matches to guns which would rake our bow, 
where our company was. If they had fired, our company 
would have been destroyed. She had mistaken our 
signal, and thought we were secessionists. Our boat- 
swain cried out, again, ' Pawnee ! United States ship ! ' 
and the mistake was discovered in time, and the men of 
the Cumberland, and also of the Pennsylvania, gave us a 
round of cheers, and their bands played ' Hail Columbia.' 
"We disembarked, and at once were set to rolling several 
thousand shells and balls into the sea and laying powder 
trains ; while the marines spiked or otherwise disabled the 
cannon in the yard. We went on board about half-past 
twelve o'clock at night, but the Pawnee did not leave till 
four o'clock in the morning. 

" Soon after we left, the powder trains exploded ; the 
vessels, three or four of which we left behind, and the 
buildings, were all in a blaze, lighting the sea for a long 
distance. This loss of the munitions of war to Virginia is 
immense. On our return we passed the batteries, which 
we expected the exasperated Virginians would fire upon 
us, and the marines stood at their guns. The comman- 
der said we should have a warm time. Still, we were so 
exhausted, that we even lay down to sleep. The marines 
told us they did not see hoV we could sleep when we 
were likely to be sunk at any moment. For some reasons 
which we do not know, the batteries did not open on us, 
and we were happily preserved. Our men were calm, 
and for my own part, I felt only a little different from 
what I should in doing a responsible piece of law business. 

" It is singular to witness the elasticity of human nature, 
wdiich adapts itself to almost anything. There was some- 
thing almost sublime in the stoicism of the regulars. 
While we were at Norfolk the secessionists sunk vessels 
in the channel to prevent our return. They were under 
the direction of a Virginian, late a lieutenant in the ser- 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 177 



vice of the United States. We, however, passed through. 
We got back to the fort at about six o'clock, on Sunday 
forenoon. We were gladly welcomed by our friends of 
the Third Regiment, who expected to find our ranks 
thinned. Some of them hardly dared to meet us, expect- 
ing to find that many had fallen." 

John C. Breckenridge made a great speech at Louisville, 
Ky., denouncing the government. A great mass-meet- 
ing was held in New York. All parties for the Union. 
The United States arsenal at Liberty, Mo., was seized by 
rebels. 

On the 20th, Governor Andrew received a dispatch 
from Brigadier-General Butler, requesting him to forward 
more troops, arms, and ammunition, as speedily as jjossi- 
ble, in order that they could force a passage through to 
Washington. Active measures were immediately taken to 
comply with the request, and a special order was issued 
calling out the Light Artillery, in addition to the compa- 
nies composing the Fifth Regiment. 

The Somerville Light Infimtry (Co. B, Fifth Regiment), 
Capt. Brastow, arrived, and proceeded to Faneuil Hall, 
where the Fifth Regiment was quartered. The company 
was composed of fine-looking men, and when they passed 
down State Street the crowd of spectators applauded 
heartily. 

The Mechanic Light Infantry, of Salem (Co. B, Seventh 
Regiment), Capt. George H. Pierson, and the Salem City 
Guard (Co. H, Seventh Regiment), Capt. Henry F. Dan- 
forth, having been detailed to join the Fifth Regiment, left 
Salem in an extra train at nine o'clock on Saturday morn- 
ing. Previous to their departure a beautiful silk flag was 
presented to the Mechanic Light Infantry by Pcrley Put- 
nam, a veteran eighty-four years of age, and a former 
commander of the corps. The city government of Salem 
voted $15,000 for the benefit of the families of the vol- 
unteers. 



178 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The companies arrived at the Eastern Raih^oacl depot, 
Boston, about ten o'clock, and marched to Faneuil Hall, 
where the commanders reported for duty to Col. Law- 
rence. 

Every endeavor was made to have the regiment prop- 
erly equipped and on the road by six o'clock in the after- 
noon ; but it was found impossible to have the overcoats 
and under-garments in readiness before midnight. The 
Light Artillery, Major Cook, were ready to start very soon 
after receiving the order, with about one hundred and 
twenty men. The horses necessary for the company, 
seventy in number, were purchased of the Metropolitan 
Railroad Corporation. Tlie full battery, six brass six- 
pounders, together with the horses, ten tons of powder, 
and a large quantity of sliot, were sent on a trahi, at ten 
o'clock in the evening, to New York. At about half-past 
one o'clock the artillery company marched to the AVor- 
cester Railroad depot, and took their places in the train, 
where they waited until the Fifth Regiment arrived. 
About five o'clock, refreshments, in the shape of baked 
beans, were served to each man ; and after they got 
through they amused themselves by throwing the plates 
out of the windows of the cars and smashing them. 

The Fifth Regiment were not able to get all of their 
equipments until a very late hour. At four o'clock the 
different companies were ordered up, and, after receiving 
their rations, the regimental line was formed, and they 
marched to the Worcester depot. A large crowd was 
assembled to see them off, notwithstanding the unseason- 
able hour. The artillery company started in a train by 
themselves at about six o'clock, and the Fifth Regiment 
started about half an hour later. They were joined at 
Worcester by the Third Battalion of Rifles, Major T. E. 
D evens. 

On the night of the 2Uth, at the solemn hour of mid- 
night, the writer of this work, in company with a gentle- 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES, 179 

man friend, accompanied an anxious mother to take 
another look of her darling son, who was one of Major 
Cook's artillerists, and who was to leave that night. All 
was still and quiet save here and there the rapid footfall 
of a soldier or perhaps two, hurrying to their place of 
rendezvous, their bright arms glittering in the moonlight, 
or now and then the clattering of hoofs with a solitary 
carriage conveying some friends of soldiers to " see them 
once more," before they departed. No noise or confusion 
indicated to us the place of their meeting. We wended 
our way to the State House. All was silent, — no signs 
of life. We passed around to the back entrance, where 
stood a solitary carriage waiting for some officers who 
were in council with the governor in the executive cham- 
ber. A sentinel, pacing to and fro, demanded to know 
our business. On being informed, he gave us all neces- 
sary information as to where the troops could be found. 
We proceeded hastily to the " armory," in the lower part 
of the city. On arriving there, we found congregated an 
immense mass of human beings anxiously waiting for the 
soldiers to come out, as there was " no admittance " inside. 
As soon as it was known that ladies were in waiting, an 
officer came out, and our gentleman attendant told him 
'our business, and asked him if we could go in. He re- 
plied, " Oh, yes ; I'll take the ladies in, but I can't take 
you in." A signal rap, and the door was opened just 
sufllicient to crowd through, and immediately closed after 
us. And such a scene ! The soldiers were amusing 
themselves in every imagina])le " innocent " way. Some 
w^ere stretched on benches to get a few moments' rest ; 
some were talking and laughing ; others seemed sober 
and thoughtful ; while in one corner of the room a com- 
pany of a dozen or more were singing " Dixie " at the 
top of their voices, which had scarcely ended when a 
crowd in another part of the room struck up 
" I am going home to die no more." 



180 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

We found the object of our search, and after a few 
moments' conversation we took an affectionate farewell of 
him and hurried to our homes. 

Early on the morning of the 21st they left Boston for 
the seat of war. 

April 21. Steamers Baltic, with the New York Twelfth 
Regiment, the R. R. Cuyler, with the Eleventh, the Colum- 
bia, with the Sixth Regiment on board, accompanied by 
the Harriet Lane, with sealed orders, left New York at six 
o'clock in the evening. 

The regiments marched down Broadway about one 
o'clock, embarking at two o'clock. The scene on Broad- 
way and at the piers defies description. Probably from 
four to five hundred thousand people witnessed their 
departure, perfectly wild with joyful and patriotic enthu- 
siasm, though tinctured with sorrow by relatives. 

The Rhode Island regiment, under command of Gov- 
ernor Sprague, one thousand strong, arrived in the morn- 
ing, and left in the Coalzacoalcos at sundown. 

The harbor was the scene of great excitement as the 
fleet left. All the piers, landings, and house-tops in New 
York, Jersey City, Hoboken, and Brooklyn, and the Bat- 
tery, were crowded with people, and thousands of boats 
filled with people saluted them as they steamed down 
the bay. Flags were dipped, cannons roared, bells rang, 
and steam-whistles shrilly saluted, and thousands sent up 
cheers of parting. 

Over four thousand men left New York on that day for 
the seat of war. From this date, for many days, troops 
were rapidly pouring in for Washington, Annapolis, and 
Fortress Monroe. 

The United States Branch Mint at Charlotte, N. C, 
was seized by the rebels. 

April 22. Governor Hicks sent a communication to 
the President, urging the withdrawal of troops from Mary- 
land, a cessation of hostilities, and a reference of the 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 181 

national dispute to the arbitrament of Lord Lyons. Scc- 
rctaiy (of State) Seward replied, that the troops must 
pass through Maryland, and that our troubles could not 
be " referred to any foreign arbitrament." 

General Robert G. Lee was appointed by the Virginia 
convention " commander of the military and naval forces 
of Virginia." 

The rebel general, Gideon J. Pillow, sent a message 
to Parson Brownlow, inviting him to act as chaplain to 
his brigade, to which he received the foUowmg " spicy " 
reply : — 

"KxoxviLLE, April 22, 1861. 

" Gen. Gideon J. Pillow: — I have just received your 
message, through Mr. Sale, requesting me to serve as 
chaplain to your brigade in the Southern army ; and in 
the spirit of kindness in which this request is made, but 
in all candor, I return for an answer, that when I shall 
have made up my mind to go to hell, I will cut my throat 
and go direct, and not travel round by the way of the 
Southern Confederacy. 

" I am very respectfully, &c., 

" W. G. Brownlow." 

A correspondent writing from Knoxville, under date of 
April 24, says : — 

" The house of the celebrated, bold-hearted, and out- 
spoken Parson Brownlow is the only one in Knoxville over 
which the stars and stripes are floating. A few days ago 
two armed secessionists went at six o'clock in the morn- 
ing to haul down the stars and stripes. Miss Brownlow, 
a brilliant young lady of twenty-three, saw them on the 
piazza, and stepped out and demanded their business. 
They replied they had come to ' take down them stars 
and stripes.' She instantly drew a revolver from her 
side, and presenting it, said, ' Go on ! I'm good for one 
of you, and I think for both ! ' 

" ' By the look of that girl's eye she'll shoot,' one re- 

16 



182 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

marked. ' I think we'd better not try it ; we'll go back 
and get more men,' said the other. 

" ' Go and get more men,' said the noble lady ; ' get 
more men and come and take it down, if you dare ! ' 

" They returned with a company of ninety armed men, 
and demanded that the flag should be hauled down. But 
on discoveriiig that the house was filled with gallant men, 
armed to the teeth, who would rather die as dearly as pos- 
sible than see theu* country's flag dishonored, the seces- 
sionists retired." 

The common council of New York passed an order 
appropriating $1,000,000 to equip volunteers and pro- 
vide for their families. 

April 23. General Butler took military possession of 
the Annapolis and Elk River Railroad. 

At a flag-raisuig at Newburyport, a large American 
eagle was seen hovering over the assemblage. The omen 
was hailed with cheers. After which the large concourse 
assembled joined in singing "America." 

The first regiment of South Carolina volunteers left 
Charleston for the seat of war on the Potomac. 

April 24. Governor Magoffin, of Kentucky, issued a 
proclamation calling on the State to place herself in a 
condition of defence. 

April 25. Fort Smith, in Arkansas, seized by rebels, 
under Solon Borland. 

Major Sibley surrendered four hundred and fifty Uni- 
ted States troops to the rebel Col. Van Dorn, at Saluria, 
Texas. 

The Maryland legislature met at Frederick. General 
Butler stated that if they passed an ordinance of seces- 
sion he would arrest the entire body. Governor Letcher, 
of Virginia, issued a proclamation announcing the trans- 
fer of the State to the government of the Southern Con- 
federacy. 

Senator Douglas made a speech before the Illinois 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 183 

legislature, urging immediate action in support of the 
government. 

April 26, Governor Brown, of Georgia, issued a proc- 
lamation prohibiting the payment of Northern debts till 
the end of hostilities, and directing the payment of the 
money into the State treasury, to help defray the expen- 
ses of the war. 

More bridges were burned near Baltimore, on the Phil- 
adelphia road. 

April 27. General Scott was authorized by the Presi- 
dent to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in the military 
district between Washington and Philadelphia, if found 
necessary to the pul)lic safety. Many Southerners em- 
ployed in the departments at "Washington resigned and 
left for the South, refusing to take the oath of allegiance. 
A steamer loaded with powder for the rebels was seized 
at Cairo. 

The President issued a proclamation extending the 
blockade to the ports of Virginia and North Carolina. 

While too much cannot be said in praise of the volun- 
teers, from all parts of the country, their patriotic spirit 
and energy, yet Massachusetts troops seem to have a 
decided advantage in some respects over all others. 
They have so many apt and experienced mechanics among 
them, that they find no difficulty in laying down rails, 
building bridges, or running trains. 

It was a fortunate dispensation that took Gen. Butler 
to Annapolis. His shrewd mind at once comprehended 
the importance of the position, and he set to work to 
make it secure. Not until that work was accomplished, 
did he allow troops to go forward. The malice of the 
secessionists was in one instance successfully baffled. 
The railroad men, besides taking up the rails, had done 
considerable damage to the rolUng stock. Gen. Butler 
sent a party, apparently unarmed, to the car-shop, who 
were met by the workmen, who refused them admittance. 



184 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Each Massachusetts man drew a " persuasive argument " 
from his breast, which operated like magic, and no fur- 
ther resistance was offered. 

But anotlier obstacle presented itself. The only engine 
in the building had been taken to pieces so thoroughly, 
that the author of the mischief asserted that no man 
north of the Potomac could put it together in two 
months. Our boys looked at the scene before them a 
minute ; then one exclaimed, " I helped build that 
machine." Another said, " I'll bear a hand to put it 
together ; " and a dozen others, who felt perfectly at home 
on the occasion, sprang forward, so that in a few hours 
the engine was under steam. 

April 29. Maryland House of Delegates voted against 
secession, 53 to 13. The State senate published an 
address, signed by all the members, denying the intention 
of passing an ordinance of secession. Steamships Ten- 
nessee, Texas, and Hermes seized at New Orleans. 

April 30. A soldier who escaped from Charleston, 
states that the Southern stories of a bloodless fight in 
Charleston harbor are not true, — that he served o.t the 
guns during the fight at Fort Moultrie, and that nearly 
every shot from Fort Sumter killed somebody. Between 
three and four hundred were killed, and a large number 
wounded, at Fort Moultrie, during the siege. 

The killed were collected in a mass and interred at 
night in Potter's field. Many were also killed in dwell- 
ings outside the fort. The soldiers were threatened with 
death if they disclosed the facts about the killed. Peo- 
ple were constantly inquiring for their friends, and were 
assured they were at Sullivan's Island. 

Another soldier who was at Morris Island says that 
one hundred and fifty were killed there, and forty at 
Sullivan's Island. He makes the same statement rela- 
tive to the dead being buried at night in Potter's field. 

We cannot of course vouch for the truth of this state- 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 185 

ment, though it would seem a " decided " miracle, if a 
bombardment of forly-cight hours could go on without 
killing somebody ; especially, in a crowded fort, it would 
hardly be possible to throw shot or shell without hitting 
some one ; whereas in Fort Sumter the garrison were so 
" few and far between," that, with precaution, they might 
escape. 

All masters of vessels received notice on the twenty- 
fourth to leave Charleston in forty-eight hours, or they 
would be held by the Southern government. Some were 
detained for lack of men to work their ships, and the 
rest fled. 

April 80. Jefferson Davis sent a message to Congress 
at Montgomery, in which he stated that there were in the 
field, at Charleston and the forts in the South, 10,000 
men, and 16,000 en route for Virginia. 

Troops were constantly passing through Wilmington, 
from South Carolina and Georgia for Richmond. 

Governor Ellis, of North Carolina, called for thirty 
thousand volunteers additional to the regular militia, and 
all organized corps were commanded to be in readiness at 
an home's notice. 

A Savannah paper of the 23d says : " There are three 
vessels here, ready fitted, waiting for privateer commis- 
sions, which will be received in a few days. They will 
be commanded by skilful seamen, and many others will 
sail under the charge of rebel Yankees. 

" Recruits are fast pouring into Savannah, and great 
preparations are making to join the rebel army in the 
border States for an attack upon Washington. There is 
great excitement in Savannah, and all Unionism is effect- 
ually overawed." 

The proclamation of President Davis to legalize piracy, 
the taunt and defiance bandied between sections, seemed 
as though madness ruled the hour, and that notliing l)ut 
a conflict of arms — dreadful as the remedy is — could 

16* 



186 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

restore reason to its throne. In the noon of the nine- 
teenth century, in this trial hour of our country's dire 
calamity, we distrust out power to write aright, but as 
the cloud thickens and lowers around us, we stand in the 
faith that the God who smiled on the " heritage of the 
fathers " will be with the sons, and direct them in their 
efforts to save the country now. This is the " Light be- 
hind the cloud ; " in tliis faith let the union of the loyal 
men be perfect. 

Europe has told us we were not a military people ; 
that partisan policy would triumph over government ; but 
the test has come, and party is forgotten. Political ene- 
mies in peace have become firm friends in war. 

It is true, that, when the sixth decade of the nine- 
teenth century came to an end, and the year 1861 was 
ushered in, it found the North pursuing their usual quiet 
avocations in peace and harmony ; the entire free States, 
from East to West, wholly unprepared for war, and no 
extraordinary anxiety manifested in regard to an invasion 
or a dissolution of the Union, and, notwithstanding the 
foreshadowing of the coming storm, the North slumbered 
on, until the lightnings from Sumter awoke them to the 
stern reality that war had overtaken them and found 
them sleeping ; -— no army ; the military condition of the 
country at the lowest ebb ; no navy ; no equipments ; 
no soldiers, with the exception of here and there an in- 
dependent company, or an isolated regiment which had 
become inactive from want of use. These were only a 
" drop in the bucket ; " but, simultaneously with the fall 
of Sumter, an immense army sprang into existence, as 
the growth of a single night. New England " blazed" 
with musketry ; New York arose in her might ; Pennsyl- 
vania was awake, and the great North-west poured in her 
sons to defend the country, and in the brief period of 
a few weeks we have an army of two hundred thousand 
men, preparing for the conflict to put down rebellion, 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 187 

and subdue the enemies of the government. The plead- 
ings are made up. The trial has commenced. Armed 
hundreds of thousands are the jury ; and the world is 
the court. 

"We might describe at great length the noble conduct 
of many ; the services rendered ; the generous donations 
of moneyed men ; the liberal and praiseworthy assistance 
of the ladies in making garments for the soldiers and 
providing them with little necessaries and comforts ; the 
tender of benefits, at places of amusement, for soldiers 
and their families ; the offers of express companies, rail- 
road corporations and shipping merchants, to carry pack- 
ages, letters and troops free of expense ; of physicians, 
to give medicine and attendance, free of charge, to the 
families of those who had been called away ; of heavy 
loans to the government, from private citizens as well as 
banking houses ; of reduction of rents ; of generous do- 
nations of ready-made clothing for soldiers ; of handsome 
contributions in churches ; of the magnificent display of 
flags and decorations by public and private individuals ; 
but we are inadequate to the task — we cannot do justice 
to the subject. It would be impossible to particularize 
without omitting the mention of many worthy individuals 
whose patriotism was unsurpassed ; suffice it to say, that 
but one heart, one voice, one feeling predominated. 
What was not done by government, was made up by 
private individuals ; the rich, as with one consent, lifted 
upon their shoulders the burden of many families of 
those who were gone or going, — assumed responsibili- 
ties, and poured out their money for the general good ; 
and to speak of decorations in national colors, we cannot 
better express it than to say, men, women and children, 
towns, cities and villages throughout the free States, lite- 
rally " blazed " with red, white and blue. 



CHAPTER X. 

The cause is sacred in which they fell, 
And holy the tears which flow. . . . 

Mat 1. Wednesday. — The bodies of the Massacliii- 
setts men, A. 0. Whitney and Luther C. Ladd, who died 
at Baltimore, were returned to the State from which they 
had so recently departed. Also, Sumner H. Needham, of 
Company I, Lawrence, who died from a wound (fracture 
of the skull) received in the attack on the troops at Balti- 
more. 

Information was received at noon that the bodies were 
on their way to Boston, and instant preparation:^ were 
made for their proper reception. The Independent Ca- 
dets were ordered out to do escort duty, and the call 
was promptly answered. At four o'clock they left their 
armory, under command of Major Baldwin, and marched 
to the depot of the Western Railroad. 

The news of the expected arrival was announced in 
the Journal and other papers, and spread quickly ; and a 
large concourse of citizens collected around the depot, 
anxiously awaiting the arrival of the train. Governor 
Andrew, accompanied by two of his aids, and Adjutant- 
General Schouler, with other gentlemen belonging to 
different departments of the State government, came in 
hacks to take the bodies into the charge of the State. 

The train entered the depot at seven minutes of five, 
and the bodies, three in number, laid in metallic cofiins, 
and then enclosed in pine boxes, were taken from the 
cars. They came in the care of Merrill S. Wright, a pri- 
vate of the Richardson Light Infantry, of Lowell, who 

188 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 189 

was detailed by Col. Jones, of the Sixth Regiment, for 
that purpose. He left Washington on Monday, arriving 
at Baltimore the same evening, and received the bodies 
from City Marshal Kane, in whose charge they were. No 
objection was made by any of the authorities of the city, 
and he left there Tuesday morning and came directly to 
Boston. Mr. Wright did not see the bodies, as the coffins 
had not been opened since they were put in, and could 
say nothing concerning the truth of the statement that 
they had been mutilated. 

The bodies were placed upon biers which had been pre- 
pared, and each being covered by an American flag, they 
were borne into the street, where the Cadets had formed 
m line, and presented arms, while the band played " Pley- 
el's Hymn," and all the spectators stood reverentially 
with uncovered heads. The clouds, which had before 
darkened the heavens, broke suddenly away, and the sun 
looked down brightly upon the scene where thousands of 
citizens had gathered with sorrowful hearts to receive the 
bodies of the martyrs from Massachusetts who fell in the 
cause of government and law. Hearses were in attend- 
ance, in which the coffins were placed, and, surrounded by 
the Cadets, they moved slowly from the depot. The Gov- 
ernor and the gentlemen who accompanied him, with Mr. 
Wright, who had the bodies in charge, followed in car- 
riages. The military marched with arms reversed, and 
the band played solemn dirges as the funeral cortege 
passed along the streets, which were crowded with people, 
all preserving a religious silence. The procession passed 
through Washington Street to West, and thence up Tre- 
mont to the State House, over the same spot as that on 
which they stood but two weeks before and received the 
banner in defence of which they had fought so bravely. 
No halt was made until, marching down Beacon Street, 
they reached King's Chapel, at the corner of School and 
Tremont Streets, in the vault of which the remains were 

16* 



190 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



deposited, with the same ceremonies which had charac- 
terized their reception at the depot. 

COMMONWEALTH OP MASSACHUSETTS. 



Executive Department, CotfNCiL Chamber, 7 
Boston, May 1, 1861. > 
Hon. B. C. Sergeant, Mai/or of Lowell : — 

Sir : Mr. Merrill S. Wright, of Lowell, arrived at Bos- 
ton this afternoon at five o'clock, in charge of the remains 
of those Massachusetts men who fell at Baltimore on the 
19th of April. I met these relics of our brave and pat- 
riotic soldiers at the Worcester Railroad depot, accom- 
panied by my military staff and the Executive Council, 
where we took them in charge, and, under the escort of 
the corps of Independent Cadets, bore them through our 
streets, thronged by sympathizing citizens, and placed 
them in the " Vassall " tomb beneath the ancient King's 
Chapel, at the corner of Tremont and School Streets. 
There they remain, subject to the orders of those friends 
who have the right to decide their final disposition. But 
it would be most grateful to the Executive Department, in 
cooperation with those nearest to the lamented dead, to 
assist in the last funeral honors to their memory ; and I 
should be pleased to meet you and the Mayor of Law- 
rence and the Selectmen of Stoneham, as soon as you 
may convene them, at the State House, to consider the 
arrangements suitable to the occasion. 

I am, yours respectfully, 

John A. Andrew, Governor. 

During the passage of the procession through the 
streets the flags on the City Hall and at other points 
were displayed at half-mast ; and several stores on Wash- 
ington Street — Macullar, Williams & Parker, Kinmonth & 
Co., George TurnbuU & Co., H. M. Smith, Raymond 
& Cary, G. W. Warren & Co., Washington Building, 
Shreve, Brown & Co., Williams & Everett, and others — 



THE EEBEJXION m THE UNITED STATES. 191 



were draped iii black, and showed other emblems of 
mourning.. 

The American flag was raised on the steeple of the Old 
South Church, Boston, with appropriate ceremonies. 

The steam transport Cambridge sailed with supplies 
for the Massachusetts troops at Fort Monroe, Annapolis 
and Washington, and about one hundred and fifty troops 
for the seat of war, including Captain Dodd's company of 
Rifles, nineteen recruits for the New Bedford City Guards 
at Fort Monroe, ten men fof the Taunton Light Guard, 
and forty-two recruits for Company K, Tliird llegiment, 
stationed at Port Monroe. She carried, in addition to 
the Volunteer troops, a squad of twelve picked men, from 
the United States Marhie corps, to act as a permanent 
guard to the steamer. The troops were supplied with 
forty thousand rounds of musket and rifle cartridges, and 
ammunition for the rifled cannon and broadside guns. 
The troops, glowing with health and youthful enthusiasm, 
were in the best possible spirits, and, as the steamer 
glided mto the stream, returned with hearty cheers the 
parting salutations of their friends. When fairly olear of 
the wharf, a salute was fired from a heavy broadside gun. 
Governor Buckingham, of Connecticut, m liis message, 
recommends an efficient State militia ; says that forty-one 
volunteer companies have akeady been accepted, and 
the Fifth Regunent will soon be full ; that all parties are 
acting in harmony on the question ; and, referring to the 
attitude of the South, he remarks .•=- 

"The alternative of submitting to their claims,, or to 
the overthrow of the government, is now presented. 
The issue is forced upon us, and must be met ; not by 
cowardice and humble subserviency to usurped authority, 
but by firmness corresponding with the magnitude of the 
interests at hazard, and in a spirit that shall vindicate the 
insulted majesty of a nation. The sceptre of authority 
must be upheld, and allegiance secured. It is no time to 



192 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



make concession to rebels, or parley with men in arms. 
We must make no sacrifices of principles vital to freedom, 
and no indecent haste for conciliation and peace. ' God 
makes haste slowly.' 

" This is the day of our trial. Freedom and despotism, 
repubhcanism and absolutism, civilization and rehgion, 
from every corner of this earth, are watching with intense 
interest, as we vibrate between law and anarchy. . . 

" But indifferent or disloyal we cannot be. Fail or fal- 
ter we shall not. Through and beyond the clouds and 
darkness of the present I think I see a bright and glori- 
ous futtire. I hear, too, above the roar and shock of 
battle, prophetic voices — voices of the patriot dead, who 
fell at Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill, and on 
every bloody field of the Revolution. They bid us look 
over this broad land, with its teemmg millions, and all its 
wealth of prosperity, and to remember that it is the pur- 
chase of their blood. What they did for themselves, 
their children, and us, their children's children, they call 
on us to do for ourselves and ours. The liberties they 
conquered have been to us a proud heritage of freedom 
and national renown for more than three-quarters of a 
century. Be it ours to reconquer those liberties, and, by 
the blessing of God, transmit them, unimpaired, as a 
priceless legacy to those who come after us." 



T H B 



REBELLION m THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XI, 

Our foreheads both sprinkled in Liberty's narae 
From the fountain of blood with the finger of flame. 

From Headquarters " United States military depot," 
Annapolis, Md., we receive the following statement of 
troops which had arrived there up to April 27 (inclusive), 
and the disposition made of the same, — this, of course, 
does not include any of those who passed through Balti- 
more, — only thirteen days since the surrender of Fort 
Sumter : 



Mass. 8th Regiment, 

" 5th " 

" 1st Lt. Battery, 

" 3d Bat. Rifles, 
N. Y. 7th Regiment, 

" 6th " 

" 1 2th " 

" 7ist " 
Penn. 4th " 

" 5th " 

" 10th " 
E. r. 1st Rifles, 
N. Y. 8th Regiment, 

" 6Sth " 

^' 13th " 

" 25th " 

17 



Col. Mimroe, 
" Lawrence, 

Maj. Cook, 
" Devens, 

Col. Letl'erts, 
" PJnckney, 
" Butterfield, 
" Vonsburgh, 
" Hartvaupt, 
" McDowell, 
" Burnside, 
" Burnside, 
" Lyons, 
" Corcoran, 
" Smith, 
" Bryan, 



780 men, 

780 " 

100 

24 G 

991 

550 

780 

780 

390 

780 

780 

1045 
1060 

500 

560 



Washington. 
u 

6 guns, Annapolis. 

u 

Washington. 

Annapolis. 

Washington. 

Annapolis. 
Washington. 



Annapolis. 

Washington. 

Annapolis. 



194 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



Prom Washington, the sound comes to us on the 
breeze, of thousands of exultant roices, "Tliree eheere 
for Rhode Island," as the quota of that gallant little 
State marched proudly along, the first battalion escorting 
the second, which had just landed. The continental 
color was carried by the second battalion, and was 
cheered bj tlie multitude, also cheer on cheer went up 
for the ladies who marched braTcly with the file closers 
of two companies, the "-Florence Nightingales," who 
had left their homes and friends to minister to the wants 
of suffering soldiers on the field of battle, though many 
patriotic ladies, in different places, had enrolled tlieir 
names as " nurses," to go at any time whenever tlieir 
services were needed, jet these were the first wliich had 
arrived in Washington. 

As we progress in this '-'- History," we sliall devote, 
here and there, a bright page to the deeds of daring per- 
formed by " heroic " ladies in the din of battle, amidst 
the roar of cannon and the blaze of musketry, whicli 
will show that they possessed '^' stout hearts," second to 
none of the olden time. 

The baggage train brought up the rear, and Rhode 
Island had the honor of bringing the best uniformed, 
armed, and et^uipped regiment which had arrived in 
Washington. 

When Governor Sprague (of Rhode Island) issued 
his call for volunteers, about three times the number re- 
quired presented themselves. To choose from these the 
number wanted, in the first place every man was sub- 
jected, as in the United States regular army, to a careful 
examination by surgeons. If any defect or infirmity 
was discovered, the man was sot aside. 

In one instance a stout built, well-made man, weigh- 
ing 175 pounds, who told the surgeon he could throw 
him out of the window, was told, " You can't pass, sir, 
one of yoiir lungs is diseased." Another, who supposed 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



195 



himself all right, after a little hesitation was set aside 
by the surgeon. " What's the matter with me," he said, 
" ain't I healthy ? " " Y-e-s ! " was the reply. " Then why 
can't I go ? " Turning down a chair, the surgeon replied, 
" If you'll jump over that chair you may." The recruit 
made a resolute dash at the chair, but landed on his 
back. His legs were not equal to it, so he couldn't go. 

After this rigorous examination had thrown aside all 
the unsound men, there still remained one half more 
than were wanted, and military officers made a second 
selection, leaving out one third of the number. 

Governor Sprague, who went in command, though a 
civilian, had been for years a diligent student of mili- 
tary science, and also had opportunity for personal obser- 
vation of military operations in the late Italian war, so 
that he is well versed in the theoretical knowledge. 

Among the officers of the Rhode Island regiment 
were Col. Burnside and Major Slocumb, who had both 
seen service and attained a high reputation in the United 
States regular army. 

The people of this gallant little State are the " counter- 
part" of her governor, who, as he bade farewell to his 
friends on the pier, said, " For every man that falls send 
ten, and don't spare the money." 

On tlie march of the Rhode Island regiment through 
Maryland, a slave attached himself to the command and 
followed them until they camped. As soon as the fact 
was made known to Col. Burnside, he at once directed 
the return of tlie slave to his master. 

In many instances the slaves along the route from 
Annapolis to the Junction entreated the Rhode Islanders 
to take them along with them, but were invariably re- 
fused. 

The Massachusetts regiment, the Sixty-ninth New 
York Regiment, as well as the Fifth Pennsylvania Regi- 
ment, met with similar instances, and as in the case of 



196 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Col. Burnside, the return of the slaves to their masters 
was directed as soon as the discovery of their presence 
was made. In all three instances the slaves followed 
these regiments several miles on their march. 

In contrast with this, we learn from a Virginia paper 
that one of the recently raised Virginia companies, nnm- 
bering one hundred, was composed entirely of the free 
negroes of Petersburg, and were presented with a beau- 
tiful Confederate States flag, made by the Petersburg 
ladies, " as a token of their appreciation of the generous 
efforts they were about to make to achieve a successful 
defence of Virginia soil and principles." 

" Charles Tinsley, one of their number, stepped for- 
ward to receive the flag, and in reply said : ' We are 
willing to aid Virginia's cause to the utmost extent of 
our ability. We do not feel that it is right for us to re- 
main here idle, when white gentlemen are engaged in 
the performance of work at Norfolk that is more suit- 
able to our hands, and of which it is our duty to relieve 
them. There is not an unwilling heart among us, not a 
hand but will tell in the work before us ; and we prom- 
ise unhesitating obedience to all orders that may be given 
to us.' In reference to the flag, he said, ' I could feel no 
greater pride, no more genuine gratification, than to be 
able to plant it first upon the ramparts of Fortress 
Monroe.' 

" This patriotic speech was received with a general 
outburst of cheering and applause. 

" The men were then marched down Sycamore Street 
to the tune of ' Dixie,' to the depot, where, in the pres- 
ence of an immense crowd of darkies, they took their 
departure for Norfolk." 

An intelligent lady, writing from one of the larger 
towns in the northern part of Georgia, under date of 
April 22d, says: — 

" I have been intending to write for several days, but 





IviAJ G&]nI BEIIJ. F BUTLER 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 197 



I am SO excited and troubled that I have not much heart 
for any thing. The war is the all-absorbing topic now. 
Enlisting, drilling, etc., is the employment of the men. 
Four companies are fitting out from here. Even the cul- 
tivated and wealthy citizens are joining the army. Most 
of the lawyers are going. One of our clergymen preached 
to tbe soldiers yesterday. A collection was taken up 
last Sabbath to aid in fitting out the companies. There 
is much prayer for the Confederate States and army, and 
they confidently expect to be victorious. They abuse 
Lincoln as weak, treacherous, and villainous. Many 
here appear to think the northern soldiers cowardly and 
contemptible. To hear the northern people called all 
kinds of abusive names is trying enough, but to have 
friends whom I love fighting other near and dear friends, 
is torturing. These men will fight to the death, and 
what will be gained in the end ? 

"A system of privateering will soon be commenced, 
and piracy and murder will follow in the train. 

" Great rejoicings were manifested at the secession of 
Virginia. The rest of the slave States are expected soon 
to follow her example." 

At West Point, Ga., a company of Jews were organ- 
ized, and an oath taken by the members, requiring half 
an hour in the reading, breathing fearful " retribution." 
A splendid banner was presented to the company, bear- 
ing the words " Jehovah nissi^' — " God is with us," — 
and the Ensign, on receiving it, took a solemn oath to 
plant it on the Capitol at Washington, or die in the 
attempt. 

A gentleman from Richmond gives the following as 
samples of the speeches to the troops in that city : — 

" He listened to one man who publicly stated that the 
Seventh Regiment had been cut to pieces in the streets 
of Annapolis, and that he himself saw more than one 
hundred of their dead bodies lying in the streets of that 

17* 



198 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



city. Another man he heard assure the crowd that the 
Massachusetts vagabonds (her glorious volunteers) had 
been quartered in the capitol at Washington, and had 
amused themselves by running their bayonets through 
the pictures which adorned it, and that the rich hangings 
of the dilBFerent rooms had been pulled down, and made 
into blankets and wrappers for the use of the troops. 

" Another man, who was organizing a corps of infantry, 
told them they had nothing to do but to march to glory 
and wealth. ' What,' said he, ' could a northern army 
do on our sterile hills ; they would starve to death. But 
you,' he continued, ' have but to march to Washington, 
and lay that in ashes ; then to Philadelphia, which is rich 
in all kinds of wealth ; from that through all the North ; 
there is a village every five miles, and every village has 
a bank, and every bank has a vault of specie, and you 
have but to help yourselves.' " 

We copy the following from the Petersburg (Va.) 
Express, showing that the destruction of vessels and 
munitions of war at the Norfolk Navy Yard was far 
from complete, and that the rebels obtained much useful 
material to assist their treasonable designs, whicli, al- 
though considered of little consequence by government, 
in the hands of the Confederates were converted into 
powerful engines of war. Particularly is this demon- 
strated in the case of the Merrimac : — 

" The Plymouth will be gotten into the dock to-day, 
and will soon be ready for service. The falling of the 
large shears on the Germantown — intended for her 
utter destruction — did her much less damage than was 
feared, while, by carrying away her masts and rigging, 
it saved her from ruin by conflagration ; they have al- 
ready commenced raising her. The Merrimac is, prob- 
ably, more injured ; but it is believed that she may still 
be turned to good account. Besides, she has 30,000 
pounds of powder in her magazine, which, although 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 199 

under water, is yet so secure by being enclosed in cop- 
per receivers, that there is no danger of its being dam- 
aged. 

" Her battery of five guns — one of the best in the 
world — was gotten up yesterday and removed to Sew- 
all's Point, where it was remounted behind a strong 
breastwork, and will eloquently respond to any attempt 
of a hostile ship to pass through the Roads. When a 
similar battery shall be planted on Lambert's Point — 
which will be effected in a few days — the navy of the 
Northern myrmidons will be effectually backed down to 
the protecting beach of Portress Monroe. 

" The magnificent howitzer battery of the German- 
town, consisting of ten guns, was also raised yesterday, 
and sent to Richmond on board the steamer Northamp- 
ton. This will fully enable our sister city to give another 
welcome to the New York 7th Regiment, or to any other 
friends who may challenge their respects. 

" The shot, shell, and other ammunition thrown into 
the river by the vandal hordes before their flight, are also 
being raised in large quantities. And it is gratifying to 
learn, that, contrary to our first impressions and belief, 
in their haste and fright they actually left several hun- 
dred guns, in a remote part of the yard, unspiked. 

" The defences at Craney Island and the Hospital are 
going forward very successfully. At the latter place six 
of the Dahlgren thirty-two pounders and two brass field- 
pieces have already been mounted, and six more guns of 
the former rank will, within two days, be placed beside 
them. This is a hot-shot battery, and will be irresistible, 
as, in order to pass it, vessels mvist come within a half 
mile of it, and between it and a similar battery at Fort 
Norfolk. The furnace of the hospital battery is already 
up, and in good working order." 

Throughout the Southern States we find the wildest 
state of enthusiasm exists ; all is excitement, all eager 



200 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



for the conflict, terrible as it is. Two sections of a 
mighty nation approaching each other in battle array ! 
The annals of the " Rebellion in the United States " will 
prove to be the most barbarous, the most bloody, of any 
which has ever been recorded of any nation in the known 
world. 

We are allowed to copy the following letter from a vol- 
unteer belonging to Company H, Fifth Massachusetts 
Regiment, quartered in the Treasury Department, Wash- 
ington. It gives a glowing account of the privations 
and fatigues they endured on their journey to the national 
capital, and, from the style of composition, we judge it 
emanated from the " able pen " of some one not much 
innured to hardships. We give it verbatim, under date 
April 28th He says : — 

" Here we are, safely and comfortably quartered at the 
Treasury Department, after a long and extremely fatigu- 
ing journey of nearly a week. One week ago to-day we 
left Boston, little dreaming of what we should be obliged 
to go through, or the fatigue, thirst, hunger, and expo- 
sure that we were capable of enduring. To say that we 
have suffered extremely but half expresses my meaning. 
When we gave our services to our country, we did so with 
what we supposed was a correct understanding of the 
term "hard" usage ; but I am prepared to make the state- 
ment now, that not one man, officer or private, had any 
idea of what we should be obliged to endure. From the 
hour that we embarked on board the steamer De Soto at 
New York up to the present time, we have known noth- 
ing but extreme privation and real suffering. When we 
arrived at New York, fatigued but not hungry^ as the 
rations pressed upon us on the route were almost too 
generous, we were marched about four miles to the Astor 
House and took tea. After a rest of a few hours, we 
marched to the steamer, having been informed that our 
accommodations for sleeping (not having indulged in 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 201 



that luxury for forty-eight hours) would be of the first 
class. We embarked about two o'clock, and, much to 
our disappointment, made the discovery that the accom- 
modations for us were situated in two ditferent parts of 
the ship — the first in the hold, on damp straw and can- 
non balls, and the other on any part of the main deck 
not occupied by the horses of the Light Artillery. Of 
the two evils, your humble servant was very much exer- 
cised to judge which vms the least. However, after 
risking my neck once or twice in descending the im- 
promptu ladder affixed to the hatchway of the hold, I 
concluded to try my luck, for the first time in my life, 
on the main deck of a steamship at sea, on a cold, damp 
April night, witli nothing to cover myself with but my 
military overcoat, and a coil of very strong haivscr for a 
pillow. Being exceedingly fatigued I soon went to sleep, 
and only awoke the next morning to find that instead of 
refreshing myself with my nap, I had caught a bad cold, 
and was so stiff and exhausted that I could with much 
difficulty move at all. Hero I commenced my first lesson 
in the real life of a soldier, and began to find out that it 
was not hardly so romantic and gay as it had been repre- 
sented. Thinking tliat perliaps I might feel better after 
eating a good breakfast, I arose from my airy couch, and 
being already prepared in regard to dress, etc., combed 
my matted locks with my fingers, and proceeded aft for 
something to eat. After waiting about two hours I per- 
ceived strong indications of something being handed up 
tlie hatchway in the shape of provisions. Gracious 
Heavens — a huge tin-pan full of some kind of fried 
meat. A grand stampede was made by those not en- 
tirely prostrate by sea-sickness, myself among the num- 
ber, and with botii hands I succeeded in getting one 
small piece of meat and a handful of gravy. Coffee was 
served out in about the same manner, and those who 
were fortunate enough to have their tin dippers handy, 



202 



THE REBELLION IN TliE UNITED STATES. 



1 



succeeded in getting some of the vilest stuff that ever 
disgraced a coffee-pot. 

" Most of the men on board being very sea^sick, we 
had enough to go round ; but the next meal, about five 
o'clock, P.M., some of the sick ones, unfortunately for 
the rest of us, had so far recovered as to put their hands 
into the huge mess kid, and we did not fare even so well 
as at our morning repast. 

" Having eaten every thing we could get hold of, our 
next anxiety was in regard to a place to sleep again. I 
had fully made up my mind not to sleep on deck another 
night, and so began to look around for chances. The 
prospect seemed dreary indeed. The wind was blowing 
almost a gale, sea running Very high, ship pitching and 
rolling, weather quite cold, decks covered with water, 
and no place to sleep. The liorses occupied the entire 
sides of the deck, thus leaving no chance to get under 
the lee, out of the weather, and every available place in 
the ship filled to overflowing with fatigued, disgusted, 
and sea-sick men. However, being so fortunate as not 
to have the least sign of sea-sickness, I felt very well 
satisfied that I could find a place somewhere, and started 
on a prospecting tour. Discovering some of the men 
crawling into a window, I concluded to avail myself of 
the same opportunity, and I crawled in. Having got 
safely inside, I found it to be a large room occupied by 
the machinery of the steamer, and quite warm and com- 
fortable ; so I bunked down, with an iron piston rod 
working up and down on each side of my head, and my 
feet directly over the cylinder. Tiiese proving to be 
comfortable quarters, eight or ten of us occupied them 
the remainder of the trip. 

'' The living the next day was even worse than the first 
— the fresh provisions having given out; and so we 
were served with some of the finest salt horse ever put 
aboard a ship. But we were very fast arriving at that 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 203 

point at which any thing tasted good, and found no 
fault so long as the quantity was sufficient. So we lived 
on two days more, eating when we could get any thing 
to eat, and growling when we had nothing. Salt junk 
had really become to look inviting, — those who had been 
sick were fast recovering their appetites, and we were 
fast approaching a warmer climate. At last the look-out 
at the masthead gave us the agreeable information that 
Old Point Comfort was in sight, and the spirits of the 
men revived amazingly. In the course of the day we 
arrived off Fort IMonroe, at which place we were to re- 
ceive our orders for subsequent movements, and also 
await our consort, the " Ariel," with the right wing of 
our regiment. Here we found the United States ship 
Cumberland at anchor, having been dragged over the 
obstacles placed in the Potomac by the Virginians, and 
now lay safely under the guns of the fort. The colonel 
went ashore and received his orders, and we at once 
proceeded back up tlie bay to Annapolis, about 180 miles. 
Upon arriving in tlie river below Annapolis, we found no 
less than eight large steamships crowded with troops ; 
also the United States steamer Harriet Lane and frigate 
Constitution (Old Ironsides). We were received here 
with deafening cheers and salutes from the ships and 
steamers, and really began to feel at home again. In a 
short time we were visited by an officer from the Harriet 
Lane, and ordered to proceed at once to Annapolis ; Gen- 
eral Wilson was on board the boat that brought the officer, 
and was loudly cheered by our troops, some of whom had 
felt as though they should never see anybody again that 
they had ever known before. Tbis was ohe of the most 
beautiful and stirring sights I ever saw ; all the steamers 
were crammed full of patriotic men, cheering Massachu- 
setts, the Union, Constitution, etc. 

" We all proceeded up the river to Annapolis, and by 
seven o'clock were all quartered in that place. There 



204 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

were about three thousand troops tnere — Gov. Spragiie's 
Rhode Island regiment, New York Seventy-first, Massa- 
chusetts Fifth, besides a huge volunteer regiment from 
Pennsylvania. The next day the Sixth and Twelfth from 
New York and others arrived. This Annapolis is one of 
the most beautiful little places I ever saw. The houses 
and barracks are all in good order, and in front, next the 
water, is a fine large parade ground. There were about 
two hundred and fifty midshipmen there when we first 
went there, and a smarter looking set of little fellows you 
never saw. The school was broken up before we left, 
and the boys were all transported by steamer down tlie 
bay to the frigate Constitution, to be carried to New 
York. They marched down to the wharf with the band 
playing Hail Columbia, Sweet Home, etc., and left amid 
the cheers of the troops and firing of cannon. Some of 
them seemed to feel very sad at being obliged to leave, 
but most of them, boy-like, were very glad to be relieved 
of the restraints of a naval school, 

" About seven o'clock on Thursday evening, the Fifth 
Massachusetts Regiment received orders to proceed at 
once to Washington. Not expecting to leave before 
seven o'clock the next morning, the men had made ar- 
rangements to sleep where we were quartered, in the 
cha])el of the school. The bustle of preparation imme- 
diately commenced, and in half an hour the entire regi- 
ment was ready for a start. We had been informed 
when we first arrived at Annapolis, that we sliould be 
obliged to march to Annapolis Junction, so called, where 
the Annapolis branch connects with the Baltimore and 
Ohio Railroad, the rails having been torn up by the seces- 
sionists along the road, and the locomotive taken apart 
and strewed about the fields in tlie vicinity of the rail- 
road. But the Eighth Massachusetts Regiment having 
laid the track and repaired the engine, it was understood 
that we should go in the cars. Arriving at the depot at 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 205 

about half-past nine o'clock, it was found that the rail- 
road had not sufficient cars to carry the whole of us, and 
therefore the left wing of the regiment would be obliged 
to march the entire distance (twenty miles). At about 
eleven o'clock, P. M., we started, all tired out, having had 
very litt]e sleep, very poor living, and all lumbered up 
with overcoats, knapsacks, haversacks, with three days' 
rations, and heavy muskets. The prospect seemed 
gloomy indeed — to start at eleven o'clock at night to 
march twenty miles through the heart of an enemy's 
country, after we had been promised by the Baltimore 
papers, that if we passed over the route any way we 
should be treated to a running guerilla fight. But Mas- 
sachusetts soldiers are seldom intimidated by such threats 
as these, and by vote of the regiment we started. I 
don't believe there was ever a regiment started off in the 
night under more inauspicious circumstances than the 
gallant Fifth. To say that we suffered is a tame expres- 
sion. I myself saw men marching along, mile after 
mile, sound asleep ; then they would run against a 
sleeper, stumble, and wake up. It seems hardly possible 
that men, fresh from their homes as we were, not havino- 
been hardened to such a style of life and exposure, could 
endure what we did on that forced march in the night, 
througli the heart of Maryland, on a railroad track, with 
sand half-knee deep, expecting every moment to be at- 
tacked by the Baltimore rouglis. 

" That the roads were filled with spies and scouts we 
have no doubt, as when we left Annapolis, rockets and 
signals were fired from several points, probably inform- 
ing the enemy of our march. However, we were not 
attacked, and by dint of much persuasion and threats on 
the part of the officers, who, though as much fatigued as 
the men, knew that if they left any one asleep on the 
road it would probably be his last sleep, we arrived at the 
Junction. 

18 



p 



206 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



" It was intended to have the train that carried up the 
right wing of the regiment return and tal^e xis up, and 
much surprise was manifested tliat it did not come ; but 
it was easily accounted for. Wlien we got within about 
two miles of the Junction, there lay the train thrown otf 
the track. It seems that between the time the train 
passed up and its return, some of our gentle friends in 
Maryland had torn up a rail, and the consequence was 
tliat two cars and the tender were thrown partially down 
an embankment twenty feet high. Fortunate it was for 
us that the train run off on the downward trip, as, if it 
had passed there and taken us on board, the train would 
probably have gone entirely over the embankment, as 
the engine would have been on the other end of the 
train. Shortly after we passed the disabled train we 
arrived at a depot, at which were some half dozen or 
more citizens, and some of our men were very strongly 
inclined to string up two or three of them as examples. 
That portion of Maryland through wlncli we have passed 
is certainly the most miserable-looking country, and the 
people generally the most ignorant, stupid, lazy-looking 
bipeds that any of our people ever saw. The soil is a 
miserable, liglit-colored sand, and there seems to be 
hardly vegetation enough to keep even the poor misera- 
ble slaves alive that do the work. Most of our men 
think that if Jeff. Davis is willing to take Maryland, and 
will come uuder obligation to keep it, the best thing that 
could possibly be done by the United States government 
would be to let him have it. 

" "Well, we arrived at the Junction, and met here the 
Seventy-first of New York, which had come over the same 
route the day before. Here our accommodations were 
worse than ever before ; nothing but a few small trees to 
shelter us from the hot sun, and nothing to eat but what 
we brought in our haversacks, three days old. We made 
out to consume most of the day by sleeping under the 



THE REBELLION IN TBE UNITED STATES. 207 



trees and getting rested. The two small, miserabie-look- 
iiig hovels at this place are called by the proprietors 
hotels. The smallest and most miserable looking of the 
two rejoiceth in the euphonious title of the " Howard 
House ! " The furniture in each is similar — four rough 
chairs, a dirty pine table, and three or four disgusting 
looking niggers. The proprietors did a very good trade 
during the fore part of the day, dispensing some of the 
most abominable whiskey that was ever drank. The 
slaves of Maryland are much better protected against 
this stuff tlian the whites, inasmuch as there is a heavy 
penalty and fine for giving a negro any liquor ; the 
whites have no protection whatever ! The people in the 
surrounding country did a good business in selling vil- 
lainous pics, hard boiled eggs, etc., at enormous prices. 
A wagon load of milk that was brought down, from to- 
ward Baltimore was supposed to have been poisoned, and 
orders were immediately given to the troops to buy no 
more of the stuff offered for sale, and the venders were 
ordered off, with the comfortable assurance that if they 
were seen around the <^uarters after dark they would be 
shot by the sentries. 

" The railroad being in good condition from this place 
to Washington, in the afternoon a train came down for 
the Seventy-first Regiment of New York. The order of 
proceeding is, to leave troops enough along the line of the 
railroad to keep it open and free, and as soon as one regi- 
ment arrives another is sent off. The New York regi- 
ment went aboard the cars, with all their baggage, etc., 
ready for a start, when news was received that our regi- 
ment was to be attacked that night by troops from Balti- 
more, whi-ch is only eighteen miles off. It was very well 
known that there had been spies about the camp during 
the day, but they could not be detected. These spies 
probably obtained information that the Seventy-first was 
to leave, and that the left wing of our regiment (the right 



208 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



wing, under the colonel, having gone on to "Washington in 
the morning) would be left, with only a regiment of raw 
recruits from Pittsburg (Germans), having no uniform, 
poorly equipped and all used up, having made the march 
from Annapolis during the preceding thirty hours, with 
noticing to eat since five o'clock in tlie morning, and of 
course nearly useless. The New York regiment was 
immediately ordered to disemV)ark from the cars, we 
were all ordered into line, and slept on our arms nearly 
all night. The guard was doubled, pickets and skir- 
mishers thrown out, and great excitement prevailed. It 
was understood that some four thousand Maryland troops 
were witliin a few miles of onr camp all night, but for 
some reason did not think it advisable to attack us — 
much to our disappointment. There seems to be a 
strong prejudice in Maryland against Massachusetts 
troops, and we all very much regret that they postponed 
the attack. The Fifth Regiment would be very glad to 
have an opportunity to avenge the deaths of our brothers 
of the gallant Sixth, and if they had come upon us we 
had made up our minds not to let a single man escape 
us. We think there is no doubt of our ability to have 
done our work well if they had only given iis a chance. 
Fatigued as we were, and worn out with long marches 
and poor rations, very much disappointment was ex- 
pressed on all sides that we had no chance to teach them 
that Massachusetts is not to be trifled with. 

About four o'clock in the morning we all started for 
Washington, leaving the Pennsylvania regiment and the 
Twelfth from New York — which had arrived during the 
night — in possession of the post. Twenty men from 
each company were detailed and dropped along the^ road 
between the Junction and Washington to keep the line 
open. So we now have a direct line of communication 
and transportation between Annapolis and Washington, 
the train and locomotive off the track having been put 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 209 

to rights. Arriving at "Washington about seven o'clock, 
we were immediately marched to our quarters — the 
Treasury Department — where we now are, and have 
come under strict army regulations. We have splendid 
accommodations, and hope to fare a little better than 
since we left New -York. The building being in the 
grounds of the "White House, and having the free use of 
every thing in and about the premises, if we do not enjoy 
ourselves while we are here it will be our own fault. 

" Some of us (including myself) were fortunate enough 
to be in the vicinity of the W^hite House yesterday (Sat- 
urday) afternoon, when the band of the Seventh Regi- 
ment gave the President a serenade. Mr. Lincoln, his 
whole family, Mr. Seward, Mr. Cameron, Carl Schurz, 
and other notables of a less magnitude, appeared on the 
balcony, remaining during the whole serenade. Some 
of our regiment stationed themselves directly under the> 
balcony in order to get a good sight of Old Abe, when 
the President came forward and asked us where we were 
from ; on being told " Massachusetts " he seemed very 
mucli pleased, and turning to his family they all came 
forward, and for a few moments we were the observed of 
the whole party. He is not the homely looking man 
represented, by any means. Our party came to the 
unanimous conclusion that he was a fine, smart-looking 
man. 

" A company of United States dragoons are quartered 
in the building with us, and a fine-looking set of men 
they are. The Sixth Massachusetts Regiment are in the 
Senate Chamber, tlie Eighth in the Rotunda, the New 
York Seventh in the Representatives' Hall, the Rhode 
Islanders in the Patent Office, the Seventy-first (New 
York) in the Inauguration Ball Room, and the other reg- 
iments in various parts of the city. "Washington is, in fact, 
crowded full of troops — some say 20,000 — and I hardly 
see where they could put any more here. The New York 

18* 



210 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



Seventh go inta camp to-morrow at Georgetown. The 
Capitol is overflowing with " sojers." I have been in- 
formed by some of the citizens of Washington that great 
anxiety was felt here last week before the troops began to 
arrive ; but they seem very much relieved now. The peo- 
ple on the opposite side of the Potomac display a remark- 
ably venomous spirit toward the citizens here, and it is 
about as much as a man's life is worth to go over there 
alone. A native of Alexandria, Va., now doing business 
in this city, and belonging to one of the Washington vol- 
unteer companies, told me last night that although his 
father, mother, brothers and sistei's lived there now, he no 
more dared to go over and visit them than if they were 
a parcel of hostile Indians. One week ago to-day he 
thought he would go over and see his mother, and jump- 
ing on to his horse ho rode over, thinking of nothing but 
his errand home. But, alas for him, his connection with 
the military of Washington had gone before him ; spies 
had sent notice of liis approach to his native town, and 
when he arrived he was received by his own brother, ix)pe 
in hand, and notified that he had just five minutes to 
get out of Virginia — which, considering that it is at 
least ten minutes swift riding to Washington, his chance 
seemed very small indeed. But he spun-ed his hoi'se to 
his utmost, and although speedily followed by his gener- 
ous townsmen, also on horseback, he succeeded in elud- 
ing his pursuers, and crossed the line about two minutes 
in advance of his amiable brother, who, with rope still 
in hand, had been foremost in pursuit. 

" The people of Washington have always depended 
upon tiieir neighbors across the Potomac for their produce, 
vegetables, eggs, etc., but not one citizen of that State is 
now allowed to bring or send to market the least article 
of produce, although actually suffering for the want of 
the money which their produce would insure. The 
people now here are generally Union men. All known 



THE BEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 211 

seceders have been required to leave, and there seems to 
be nearly as strong a Union feeling here as in Boston. 
Among the military now here, none are more enthusias- 
tic or stronger Union men than the military companies 
of tliis District. 

" This account of my military experience since I left 
Boston may seem to be a record of hardships. That 
they have been somewhat severe is true ; that we were 
not exactly prepai'ed for so severe a trial on the start, is 
also true ; but that any man in the regiment is discour- 
aged and disheartened is not true ; and all seem willing 
to go through even more, if necessary, to perform their 
duty. Our quarters are very pleasant. The Treasury, 
as you know, is situated at the opposite end of Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue from the Capitol, directly at the side and 
just in front of the White House, in full view of the 
Washington Monument, the Potomac, etc., and is in one 
of the healthiest, as well as most pleasant localities in 
Washington. Some of the regiments have very poor 
accommodations, especially those in the Capitol ; splen- 
did rooms, magnificent floors and carpets, but not suffi- 
cient accommodations for cooking, etc. So, as we pro- 
bably have had the hardest time of any of the regiments 
in getting here, it is partly made up by having good 
qxiarters and plenty of tlie very best of rations now that 
we are here." 

May 2. Judge Campbell, of the United States. Su- 
preme Court, who resided in Alabama, sent in his resig- 
nation. 

New York Sixty-ninth Regiment (Col. Corcoran) ar- 
rived at Washington, also Ellsworth's Fire Zouaves. 

Legislature of Missouri convened. Governor Jackson, 
in his message to the Legislature, justified the action of 
the Confederate States, but did not recommend immedi- 
ate secession. 

Gen. Harney, who, it will be remembered, was arrested 



212 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



at Harper's Ferry while on his way to Washington 
(April 25th) by the Virginia autliorities, and released on 
the 30th by order of Gov, Letcher, addressed a letter to 
Col. O'Fallon of St. Louis declaring he would never 
serve under any other banner than the one he had fol- 
lowed for forty years ; that he would continue in the ser- 
vice of the government which had bestowed its honors 
upon him, and so long as he had breath he would be its 
faithful and loyal soldier, and implored his fellow-citizens 
of Missouri not to be seduced and become the instru- 
ments of the mad ambition of designing men, but to 
devote their efforts to the maintenance of the Federal 
Government and the perpetuation of its blessings to 
posterity. 

Under this date we received from Petersburg, Va., 
this very uncomplimentary allusion to our troops, after 
describing the movement for the defence of the Federal 
capital : — 

" God help the city of Washington and its inhabitants 
when the miserable hirelings and cut-throats reach 
there." 

We are indebted to the Mobile Register for the follow- 
ing g-loiving' effusion, in speaking of the New York 
Seventh Regiment ; it says : — 

" This city (Mobile) has just sent fortli four hundred 
of the flower of its youth to the same field of struggle. 
Not a hireling among them, but our brave brothers and 
sons, who have left homes and comforts, friends and 
peace behind, to fight for the liberty of their people and 
the honor of their flag. The North will fight this war 
with hired troops, the scum of her cities and rural dis- 
tricts, made starving by its war upon the South. We 
rejoice that Neiv York has sent one corps of its ' best 
blood.'' For every life of our youth sacrificed, the loss of 
ten Northern ruffians would be no equivalent." 

May 3. Connecticut Legislature voted, unanimously, 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 213 



$2,000,000 from her treasury, for public defence, also 
called into the field 10,000 additional troops for the de- 
fence of the government, evincing a patriotism worthy 
the best days of the republic. 

The President issued a proclamation calling for 82,000 
additional men for the army and navy of the United 
States ; 42,000 volunteers, 22,000 regulars, and 18,000 
seamen. 

Gov. Letcher, of Virginia, issued a proclamation au- 
thorizing the commanding general to call out and muster 
into service such additional volunteers as he might deem 
necessary. 

The privateer Savannah (No. 1), of the Confederate 
States, was captured by the United States brig Perry. 

May 4. Union meeting in Preston, Va., also an im- 
mense Union meeting in Wheeling. Hon, Frank Pier- 
pont of Mason county, and George M. Porter, late 
member of the convention, addressed the people in able 
speeches, urging resistance to the secession ordinance, 
and favoring the division of the State. Resolutions 
were adopted approving the action of the merchants in 
refusing to pay taxes to the authorities at Richmond, 
denunciatory of the secession ordinance, and declaring 
adhesion to the stars and stripes. 

In Louisville, Ky., Union delegates to a Border State 
convention were elected by 7,000 majority. 

On the morning of the 4th the committee of the Mary- 
land legislature held an interview with President Lincoln 
in which they admitted both the right and power of 
government to bring troops through Baltimore or the 
State, and to take any measures for public safety which 
in tlie discretion of the President might be demanded 
either by actual or reasonably-apprehended exigencies. 
They expressed the belief that no immediate effort of 
resistance to Federal authority would be attempted by 
the legislature or State authorities, and asked that, in this 



214 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



view, Maryland would, as long as possible, be spared the 
evils of military occupation or mere revengeful chastise- 
ment for former transgressions. The President replied, 
that their suggestions and representations should be con- 
sidered, but he would now say no more than that the 
public interest, and not the spirit of revenge, would 
actuate his measures. 

May 4. Funeral at Lawrence of Corporal Needham. 

The remains of Corporal Sumner H. Needham, of the 
Massachusetts Sixth, who fell a victim to the brutality of 
an incensed mob in the streets of Baltimore, were con- 
veyed from Boston in a special train, and arrived in Law- 
rence on the afternoon of the 3d, and were given in 
charge of the friends for the night, and on the morning 
of the 4th were removed to tlie City Hall, where it lay 
in state until half past one, when the funeral services 
took place. At the close of the services, which were deeply 
impressive, the remains were escorted from the hall to 
the cemetery by the military, and followed by the family, 
city government, invited guests, the clergy, firemen, and 
other organizations and citizens generally. The hall 
was decorated in mourning, the flags in the city were 
hoisted at half-mast, and a profound sadness pervaded 
the entire community. We feel called upon to dwell 
more at length on these sad events, as they record the 
first blood shed in the rebellion, and the commencement 
of a war, which, for suffering, brutality, and bloodshed, 
has no equal on the page of the world's history, and 
which it would seem impossible to enter into the mind 
of man to conceive. The funeral ceremonies of the other 
two martyrs, Addison 0. "Whitney and Luther C. Ladd, 
were performed in Lowell, on the 6th, in a manner 
worthy the cause in which they fell, and the patriotic 
spirit of the times, after which the remains of Whitney 
were sent to his native State (Maine), and those of Mr. 
Ladd to Alexandria, N. H,, for interment. 



THE KEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 215 

It is said that one of these brave men, when struck by 
the fatal ball, struggled, stood erect, with his face toward 
the blue sky above him, his dying eyes having caught 
for the last time a glimpse of the flag, and, extending 
his hands in joyful greeting, cried out, with unfaltering 
voice, " All hail to the stars and stripes," and expired. 
In his agony of glory he spoke for a continent. 

May 4. The War Department, having previously 
issued an order creating a military department at An- 
napolis, under General Butler, embracing Annapolis and 
the railroad from Annapolis to Bladensburg, with twenty- 
one miles each side of the track, and including Balti- 
more. 

General Scott forwarded despatches to General Butler 
at Annapolis, placing the Massachusetts Sixth Regiment 
and other troops at his command, and giving him three 
days to take possession of the Relay House, at the junc- 
tion of the Baltimore and Ohio and the Baltimore and 
Washington Railroads, nine miles from Baltimore and 
thirty from Washington. 

General Butler responded that he would hold religious 
services there the next day (Sunday). Accordingly, 
early on the morning of the fifth he sent up the Sixth 
Massachusetts Regiment to take possession of the Junc- 
tion at the Relay House, and at noon the Fifty-Second 
Regiment of New York, and Massachusetts Eighth Reg- 
iment arrived in the train from Washington, and en- 
camped on the west side of Patapsco River, and took pos- 
session of the telegraph wires, planted eight howitzers 
on the viaduct, and invested the entire neighborhood. 

May 6. Virginia was admitted into the Southern 
Confederacy, in secret session of the Confederate 
Congress. 

Tlie Arkansas convention passed an ordinance of se- 
cession sixty-nine to one. 

The official correspondence between Minister Faulkner 



216 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



at Paris with Secretary Seward, relative to his interview 
with Mr. Thouvenel, French Minister of Foreign Af- 
fairs, concerning the difficulties in America, was published, 
by which it appears that Mr. Faulkner waited upon M. 
Thouvenel and conferred with him concerning American 
affairs ; discussed the President's inaugural, and added, 
that it embraced the views of the President upon the 
present difficulties, and also that it was an exposition of 
the policy it was the purpose of the government to pur- 
sue. That the President entertained full confidence of a 
speedy restoration of the harmony and unity of the govern- 
ment, by a firm and liberal policy, cooperating with the 
action of the people, and that the President regretted the 
occurrence of events which might produce inconvenience 
to subjects of France ; but that all injuries should be 
indemnified ; and added, that the only request he had 
to make was, that in case the Confederate States should 
appeal to foreign powers for a recognition of their inde- 
pendence, that no proposition recognizing the permanent 
dismemberment of the American Union should be con- 
sidered by the French government, at least until the 
reception of the new minister. 

M. Thouvenel replied, that no application had yet 
been made, that the French government was not in the 
habit of acting hastily upon such questions, and believed 
that the maintenance of the Federal Union was desirable 
for the benefit both of the North and South, as well as 
for the interests of France, and the government of the 
United States might rest well assured that no hasty or 
precipitate action would be taken upon the subject by the 
Emperor. 

An Act recognizing the existence of war between the 
United States and the seceded States, and legalizing 
piracy, which passed the Congress at Montgomery, April 
29th, was published, section 10th of which reads : " A 
bounty shall be paid by the Confederate States of twenty 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 217 

dollars for each person on board any vessel belonging to 
the United States, at the commencement of an engage- 
ment, which shall be burnt, sunk, or destroyed by any 
vessel as aforesaid, which shall be of equal or inferior 
force, the same to be divided as in other cases of prize 
money ; and a bounty of twenty-five dollars shall be paid 
to the owners, officers, and crews of the private-armed 
vessels, commissioned as aforesaid, for each and every 
prisoner by them captured and brought into port, and 
delivered to an agent authorized to receive them, in any 
port of the Confederate States." 

Section 11th requires the commanding officer to keep 
a regular journal, containing a true and exact account 
of all proceedings and transactions with such vessel and 
the crew thereof, to be delivered to the collector on ar- 
riving in port. 

Section 12th provides that commanders neglecting or 
refusing to keep such record, shall have their commis- 
sions I'evoked, and be subject to a fine of one thousand 
dollars. 

Section 15th provides that five per cent, of the prize 
money arising from captured vessels and cargoes shall 
be paid over to the collectors of customs, as a fund for 
the support and maintenancp of the widows and orphans 
of such ; ersons as may be slain, and for the support and 
maintenance of such persons as may be wounded and 
disabled on board of tlie private-armed vessels in any 
engagement with the enemy. 

President Davis, in his message, makes a statement to 
the Confederates of the operations of the army and 
navy departments, the nimiber of men at his com- 
mand, the money appropriated for war purposes, and 
adds, " Two vessels purchased, have been named the 
Sumter (formerly Habana), and Macree, and are being 
prepared for sea at New Orleans, with all possible 
despatch." 

19 



218 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The steamer Daniel "Webster succeeded in making lier 
escape, and arriving at New York from New Orleans, 
via Havana, with her passengers and outward freight, 
having been ordered back by her agent at New Orleans. 
Steamer W. H. Webb, with two thirty-two pounders, and 
a crew of seventy-five men, was at the bar, with the in- 
tention of taking the Daniel Webster, but while the 
captain of the W. H. Webb was waiting orders from 
New Orleans, the Daniel Webster put to sea, without 
landing her passengers and cargo, and succeeded in 
making good her escape. 

May 7. Major Anderson, of Fort Sumter, accepted 
command of the Kentucky volunteers. Troops were 
constantly flocking towards the national capital by 
thousands daily. The railroads throughout the free 
States were appropriated for the use of government, for 
the transmission of troops, stores^ o.nd munitions of war. 
In deed and in truth there was no lack of men, money, 
or any needful thing to aid in putting down the rebel- 
lion. The contributions of the people of the North, for 
the war, during the three weeks previous to May 7th, 
amounted to ^23,277,000, and every other necessary 
article was given in proportion. 

The Second Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers ^— 
composed of the Mechanics Phalanx of Manchester, and 
five companies from Lancaster, LittMton, and vicinity — 
about four hundred in number, were the first troops 
to leave the State* Relatives and friends in great 
numbers flocked to the station to bid them farewell, 
mothers and fair maidens were in tears, and on 
every hand might be heard the exclamations, " God 
bless you," " Do your duty faithfully," " Preserve the 
honor of the Granite State," and many others of sim- 
ilar import. 

Governor Harris, of Tennessee, sent a message to the 
General Assembly, announcing the formation of a 

P _ ^ ^ ^ __ ^ _ -_ 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 219 

military league between that State and the Confederate 
States. 

May 9. The Congress at Montgomery passed an act 
authorizing Jefferson Davis to raise such a force for the 
war as he might deem expedient. 

The Legislature of Pennsylvania passed a bill appro- 
priating three millions of dollars for war purposes. 

The First Regiment Connecticut volunteers left New 
Haven for the seat of war ; also the First Regiment 
Vermont volunteers left Rutland for Washington. 
Not only were the Eastern and Middle States in motion, 
but the West, almost en masse, like a mighty cataract, 
was moving on toward the national capital, eager to 
lay themselves on the altar of their country, for their 
coimtry's good ; and the multitudes who gathered to see 
these regiments depart were witnesses to many heart- 
rending scenes, many a tear-dimmed eye, many an out- 
burst of sorrow and affectionate adieu, which will be as 
lasting as the world, even till the resurrection morning. 

May 10. A brigade of the Missouri State militia, under 
General Frost (rebel), in camp at Camp Jackson, surren- 
dered unconditionally on demand of Captain Lyon, com- 
mander of United States forces in St. Louis. 

It appears that the governor of that State, who was a 
secessionist, had been doing all in his power to precipi- 
tate the community into the hands of the rebel leaders. 
One of his ingenious schemes was the formation of a 
State militia, which was simply a rebel force under 
another name. Captain Lyon could not suffer this de- 
fiant treasonable body to organize and gain strength 
close under his eye, so he marched on Camp Jackson 
with some 6,000 volunteers, surrounded it, and planted 
eight field-pieces on the adjoining eminences. Captain 
Lyon then sent a letter to General Frost, charging him 
with being openly in communication with the Southern 
Confederacy, and in direct hostility to the government 



220 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



of the United States and cooperation with its enemies, 
receiving at Camp Jackson, and under its flag, for said 
Confederacy, large supplies and materials of war, most 
of which were known to be the property of the United 
States, and demanded an immediate surrender of his 
command, with no other conditions than that all the 
persons surrendering should be humanely and kindly 
treated, and giving him half an hour to comply with the 
demand. General Frost replied that he was unprepared 
successfully to resist the attack ; he therefore accepted 
the terms specified and surrendered his command, about 
eight hundred men being in camp, and a large number 
being in the city on leave ; they then laid down their 
arms, and were escorted to the city as prisoners of war. 
Release on parole was tendered to the officers and troops, 
providing they took the oaths not to take up arms against 
the United States government, which they declined to do. 
They were accordingly confined in the arsenal, but re- 
leased on the next day by acceding to these proposi- 
tions. 

General Frost and his officers gave their parole under 
protest, and the men took the oath not to serve against 
the United States. 

Just before the troops left for the city, and while the 
State forces were drawn up between the lines of the 
volunteers, rocks and other missiles were thrown at the 
volunteers, and a few pistol shots were fired by excited 
persons in the crowd, which was composed of a large 
number of citizens, including many women. One shot 
took effect in the leg of Captain Biantowski, and as he 
fell he gave the order to fire, which was obeyed, result- 
ing in the death of several in the crowd, and severely 
wounding many others. 

General Sam Houston, in a speech at Independence, 
Texas, declared his opposition to the coercive policy of 
the Federal government. 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 221 

President Lincoln issued a proclamation authorizing 
the commander of the forces of the United States 
on the coast of Florida, to suspend the writ of ha- 
beas corpus, and to remove from the vicinity of the 
United States fortresses all dangerous or suspected per- 
sons. 

No one can realize the amount of embarrassment 
which the government has encountered from the neces- 
sity of intrusting the execution of its orders to an army 
and navy almost half demoralized by officers of treason- 
able sympathies. 

"When it was decided to employ troops for the defence 
of the capital, staff-officers, after remaining long enough 
in the War Department to acquire as much knowledge as 
possible of the details, resigned, to carry that knowledge 
into the camp of the enemy. 

When the Norfolk Navy Yard was found to be in 
danger, orders were despatched from the Navy Depart- 
ment to have all the vessels taken out. Officers at the 
yard, secretly sympathizing with secession, first pre- 
vented the execution of the orders, on the ground that 
it was not necessary, and then resigned. The Navy 
Department, on being apprised of this, instantly sent 
Commodore Paulding down to save the property. But 
it was then too late. All that could then be done was to 
destroy it, to prevent its falling into the hands of the 
secessionists. 

When the Seventh Regiment and the Massachusetts 
troops arrived at Annapolis, the capital was almost de- 
fenceless. A quartermaster was ordered to go to Annap- 
olis from Washington to hasten their march. He went, 
as was supposed, to execute his mission ; but, instead of 
bringing in the desired reinforcements, coolly, at his 
leisure, brought in his resignation ! 

These -are but a few items out of a whole volume 
of unwritten history. At every step, for a while, the 

19* 



222 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

government was clogged and crippled by traitors, •who 
drew their pay and affected loyalty so long as nothing 
was required of them, but who, at the critical mo- 
ment when their services were wanted, deserted to the 
enemy. 



CHAPTER XII. 

The star-flowering banner must never be furled. 
For its blossoms of light are the hope of the world. 

May 10. Colonel Jones, in command of the Sixth 
Regiment at the Relay House, received an intimation 
that an immense steam-gun, capable of firing several 
times in a minute, and made by Ross Winans, and called 
Winans' steam-gun, had been sent on a train from Balti- 
more to Harper's Ferry, concealed in shavings. The gun 
escaped the vigilance of the inspecting guard, when Col- 
onel Jones started an extra train, and overtook the train 
at Ellicott's Mills, six miles from the Junction, and cap- 
tured the gun and placed it in a position to command the 
viaduct over the Patapsco River at Elk Ridge Landing. 

May 11. The Queen of England issued a proclamation 
of neutrality. 

The United States steam frigate Niagara arrived off 
the bar of Charleston, S. C, and began the blockade of 
that port. 

A great Union demonstration in San Francisco, Cal. 
Nothing like it was ever seen there before. Business 
was entirely suspended. The streets were filled with 
people, and flags were as plenty as stacks of grain in 
a wheat field. Senators Latham and McDougal, and 
Generals Sumner, Shields, and others, made addresses 
in favor of sustaining the Administration. 

Resolutions were adopted that secession should be put 
down, and the Union preserved. A procession moved 
through the streets, embracing all the military and civil 
organizations, and thousands of citizens on foot, on 

223 



224 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

horseback, and in carriages. All political parties joined 
in the demonstration, which was every way worthy the 
patriotism and energy of that young and growing State. 

The city of St. Louis was the scene of another ter- 
rible tragedy. At about six o'clock, a large body of 
the Home Guard entered the city through Fifth Street 
from the arsenal, where they had been enlisted during 
the day, and furnished with arms. On reaching 
Walnut Street, a large crowd lined the pavements to 
witness their progress ; at the corner of Fifth Street, 
parties among spectators began hooting, hissing, and 
otlierwise abusing the companies. A boy of fourteen 
discharged a pistol into tlie ranks ; part of the rear 
company immediately turned and fired upon the crowd ; 
the whole column was instantly in confusion, breaking 
the ranks and discharging their muskets down their own 
line and among the people on the sidewalks. 

Tlie shower of balls for a few minutes was terrible, 
the bullets flying in every direction, entering doors, 
v/indows, and private residences, breaking shutters, and 
even smashing bricks in the third story. The utmost 
confusion and consternation prevailed, the spectators 
fleeing in all directions, and but for the random firing 
of tlie troops, scores of people must have been killed, as 
most of the firing was in tiie direction down their own 
ranks. The troops suffered most severely — four of their 
number were instantly killed and several wounded. 

Immense crowds of people filled the streets after the 
occurrence, and the most intense indignation was mani- 
fested against the Germans ; the regulars, volunteers, 
and Home Guards being mostly composed of Germans. 
Several innocent Germans were shot in the streets. 
Mayor Taylor addressed the excited crowd, and induced 
them to disperse, under the promise that no violence 
should be done. 

In order to allay the excitement, and to restore con- 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 225 

fidence to the people, General Harney, commanding the 
Military Department of the West, issued a proclamation 
to the people of St. Louis and the State, which was 
posted throughout the city, expressing deep regret at the 
state of things existing there, and pledging himself to 
do all in his power to preserve the peace, and calling on 
the people and the public authorities to aid him in the 
discharge of his duties, and said that the military corps 
under his command could only be used at the last ex- 
tremity, and hoped he should not be compelled to resort 
to martial law, but that the public peace must be pre- 
served, and the lives of the people protected. Disclaim- 
ing any desire or intention to interfere with the preroga- 
tives of the State of Missouri, or with the functions of 
its executive, yet he considered it his duty to express to 
the people, in respectful but decided language, that 
within the field or scope of his command the supreme 
laws of the land must and should be maintained. 

May 13. The troops under General Butler, at the 
Relay House, entered Baltimore and encamped on Fed- 
eral Hill. The next day the general issued a proclama- 
tion concerning his occupation of that city, duly warning 
all traitors against the transportation from the city to the 
rebels of articles fitted to aid and support troops in the 
field; that proof of such intention, on the part of the 
consignees, would render the goods liable to seizure and 
confiscation. That no flag, banner, ensign, or device of 
the Confederate States, or any of them, would be per- 
mitted to be raised or shown in his department ; that he 
wished it thoroughly understood by all traitors, their 
aiders and abettors, that their rebellious acts must cease ; 
that no loyal and well-disposed citizen would be disturbed 
in his lawful occupation or business ; that private prop- 
erty should not be interfered with by the men under 
his command or others, except so far as it might be used 
to afibrd aid and comfort to those in rebellion ag-ainst 



226 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

the government ; that the ordinary operations of the 
corporate government of the city of Baltimore and of 
the civil authorities would not be interfered with, but, 
on the contrary, would be aided by all the power at the 
command of the general, upon proper call being made. 
That he wished to treat all citizens of bis department as 
friends and brothers, having a common purpose, a com- 
mon loyalty, and a common country ; that any infrac- 
tions of the laws by the troops under his command, or 
any disorderly and unsoldierlike conduct, or any inter- 
ference with private property, would be most rigorously 
punished. During the afternoon, General Butler made 
a formal demand on the city authorities for the delivery 
of a quantity of arms stored in the warehouse of John 
S. Gittings. Marshal Kane refused to deliver up the 
arras without the officers produced an order from the 
mayor. Finally, an order was produced, and the arms 
were brought out — 2,200 muskets and 4,000 pikes, 
making fifteen dray loads. A guard of Federal troops 
were placed over the arms, and they were escorted by 
the police to the fort ; the pikes were manufactured for 
the city by Winans. On the following day, when the 
train from Frederick reached the Relay House, a detach- 
ment of Federal officers were in waiting, who arrested 
Boss Winans on a charge of treason ; he was taken to 
Fort McHenry, and on the 17th was discharged by orders 
from Washington, upon his giving his parole of honor 
that he would do no act hostile to the government of the 
United States. 

May 14. The Second Regiment of Maine volunteers. 
Colonel Jameson (the first to leave the State), left Ban- 
gor for the seat of war. 

The departure of the regiment from Bangor was 
attended by many interesting features. A splendid flag, 
made of silk, mounted with the emblematic eagle in 
gold, with heavy gold tassels, prepared by the ladies of 



F 



The rebellion in the united states. 227 

Baugor, was presented, with an appropriate speech, by- 
one of the young ladies, after which the regiment was 
addressed by Vice-President Hamhn, in a most earnest, 
eloquent, and touching tribute to the patriotism of the 
people, who had with so wonderful a promptness and 
unanimity sprung to the defence of the country in its 
hour of greatest peril. After the conclusion of the re- 
marks, reiterated cheers were given for the gallant men 
of the Second Regiment, the ladies of Bangor, Vice- 
President Hamlin, and the flag. The column was then 
formed and marched to the railway station, immense 
crowds cheering them on the route. They arrived at the 
station about 10 o'clock, and were received with a salute 
from the field-pieces of the Brown Artillery, and deaf- 
ening cheers from apparently nearly the whole population 
of the city, besides great numbers from the adjoining 
towns. 

The troops, being formed in line, were allowed about 
fifteen minutes for the last leave-taking of relatives and 
friends, and the scene which then ensued was one which 
cannot be described, — we have often tried to give a de- 
scription of these partings, but tried in vain, — our pen 
has not the power to shed from its diamond point the 
glowing words which would do justice to sucli a scene. 
It moved to tears even the thousands of spectators who 
had no immediate friends among the troops, and on tlie 
part of the relatives was sad and touching indeed. 

At a quarter before eleven the troops had taken their 
places in the long train of sixteen cars, and as it moved 
away under the giant efforts of three locomotives, the 
cannon again boomed, and shout upon shout rent the air 
from the multitude, from the troops on board the train, 
and from the decks of the shipping in the river. With 
the prayers and blessings of the people, with cheers of 
encouragement, and tears of regretful partings, the brave 
fellows of the gallant Second went forth to glory and 



228 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

honor in their country's cause. Arrived in Portland 
about twelve o'clock at night, and, notwithstanding the 
lateness of the hour, were warmly greeted by a large as- 
semblage of citizens. Tliey were escorted to Mechanics 
Hall, where a supper was provided for them, and then to 
their quarters in the new City Building. 

They left Portland at half past 10 o'clock on the 
morning of the 15th, amid the wildest enthusiasm of the 
people. At every town on the route there was a spon- 
taneous outpouring of all classes, who flocked in im- 
mense numbers to the stations and along the railroad. 
At Exeter, N. H., a salute was fired, and a band stationed 
at the depot played the national airs. At nearly every 
station the Bangor Cornet Band responded to the greet- 
ings of the people, and the troops returned the cheers 
of those they left behind. 

Young and old, of both sexes, after waiting for hours 
the arrival of the train, welcomed the echo of the shrill 
alarm in the distance with outbursts of joy, and as the 
cars swept past, venerable men, whose hoary locks flut- 
tered in the breeze, raised tlieir feeble voices, and waved 
their hats aloft, and when, overcome by their feelings, 
the troops were fairly past, buried their faces in their 
hands, and sunk down in prayer for the preservation of 
those who had gone forth, many of them never to return. 

About five o'clock the train entered the depot at Bos- 
ton, and was greeted with hearty cheers. The sons of 
Maine turned Out, to the number of about six hundred, 
and, headed by Gilmore's Band, proceeded to the depot 
to jom in the escort duty. After a slight delay the troops 
marched out of the depot and formed in the square : the 
scene was one of tlie most intense interest. About twenty 
thousand people assembled to join in the welcome to the 
soldiers. As the Maine troops appeared, three cheers for 
the gallant sons of the "Pine-Tree State" were called 
for, and given with an earnestness and will which made 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 229 

the air resound. From hundreds of windows the ladies 
waved their handkerchiefs, and from stalwart artisans 
on the house-tops the cheers came answering back. At 
every step of the way clieer upon cheer rent the air. 
Cheers for " the Pine Tree State," cheers " for Maine," 
cheers " for the big fellows on the left," cheers " for the 
big fellows on the right," and cheers for the Mahie 
troops ; some of the spectators were not content with 
cheering, but grasped the soldiers by the hands as they 
passed, and bade them God speed on their mission. The 
sons of Maine looked proud ; and well they might, to 
look upon the troops from their native State, a regiment 
only a few days old, yet, in every way worthy of the 
State which sent them forth, stalwart and hardy, but 
evincing in every movement, steadiness and subordina- 
tion. 

After being amply supplied with the " good things 
eatable," set before tliem at the different hotels, they 
were escorted to the State House, where they were 
greeted with an earnest and eloquent address from the 
governor and others, bidding them welcome to rest and 
repose while on their weary march, beneath the shade of 
the old " Commonwealth," welcome to the hearts of 
Massachusetts, and farewell with a God speed on their 
high, noble, and patriotic march. 

At the close of the remarks, the regiment, escorted by 
the Cadets and Brigade Band, proceeded to the depot of 
the " Old Colony " road, and about twenty minutes be- 
fore nine, the train, consisting of sixteen long passenger 
and two baggage cars, movei out of the depot. The 
enthusiasm at this point was redoubled on both sides, 
and continued till the cars had got far out of the depot. 

May 15. Gov. Hicks, of Maryland, called for volun- 
teers, in pursuance of tlie President's order, for three 
months' troops for the defence of tlie national capi- 
tal. S 

20 



230 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Massachusetts legislature passed a bill offering to loan 
the government seven millions of dollars. 

May 16. Bridges on the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- 
road destroyed by rebels, to prevent the passage of Fed- 
eral troops to Harper's Ferry. 

Gen. Scott ordered the fortification of Arlington 
Heights. Brigadier-Generals Butler and McClellan 
were appointed major-generals. 

Military encampments of secessionists at St. Joseph's 
and Liberty, Mo., were broken up. 

May 17. The Congress at Montgomery authorized the 
issue of confederate bonds to the amount of fifty millions 
of dollars, payable in twenty years, at an interest not ex- 
ceeding eight per cent. 

May 18. Arkansas was admitted to the Southern 
Confederacy. 

The military department of Virginia, embracing East- 
ern Virginia to the summit of the Blue Ridge, and the 
States of North and South Carolina was created, and 
Major-General Butler was placed in command, making 
his head-quarters at Fortress Monroe. 

May 19. United States steamer Monticello attacked 
the rebel battery on Sewall's Point, at the mouth of the 
Elizabeth River, by throwing a three and a half pound 
shot into their vicinity. In a moment, the flag of Vir- 
ginia was run up, and a shot returned from the battery. 
Immediately, the order was given on board the Monti- 
cello, " All men to quarters," and the firing commenced 
from a pivot, ten inch shell gun, and a thirty-two 
pounder ; and on the part qf the rebels from tliree thirty- 
two pounders, and two six pound rifled cannon. The 
engagement lasted about an hour and ten minutes, dur- 
ing which time, the Monticello fired one hundred and 
fourteen times, shot and shell ; the shot from the battery 
struck the vessel several times, but with very little in- 
jury. The Monticello finding they were short of ammu- 



THE REBELLION IN THE tJNlTED STATES. 231 

nition, withdrew. Two steam-tugs, belonging to Com- 
mander "Ward's flotilla, went to their assistance, which, 
after firing a few balls at the battery, steamed away also, 
leaving the rebels in full possession of their fortifica- 
tion. None were killed on either side, and but two 
wounded. 

May 20. The North Carolina Convention passed an 
ordinance of secession. Governor Magoffin, of Kentucky, 
issued a proclamation of neutrality, in wliich he asserts 
that the arms in the hands of the Home Guard, shall not 
be used either against the United States, or Confederate 
States. 

The Confederate Congress adjourned to meet at Rich- 
mond, Va., July 20th. 

Jefferson Davis approved the act repudiating Northern 
debts, and recommended that the money be appropriated 
to carry on the war. 

The government seized all the accumulated manu- 
script despatches of twelve months, in every considera- 
ble telegraph office in the free States, probably to 
trace the secret operations of the rebels and their abet- 
tors. 

May 22. Major-General Butler arrived at Fortress 
Monroe, and assumed command. 

Major-General Sanford, of New York, was placed in 
command of the New York troops at Washington. 
General Patterson assumed command at Fort McHenry. 

May 24. The period of preparation has closed, and 
the era of action has begun. Orders had been given for 
the advance of troops into Virginia, with strict injunc- 
tions to occupy Alexandria, Arlington Heights, and the 
intervening range of hills along the Potomac. In ac- 
cordance therewith, five regiments were designated to 
act in conjunction with Ellsworth's Fire Zouaves in a 
movement upon Alexandria. 

The orders were executed with great promptitude. 



232 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Soon after midnight on the 24tli, the forces consisting 
of the New York Fifth and Twenty-fifth Eegiments 
crossed from Georgetown, and took positions on Arling- 
ton Heights, and other of the Potomac hills. At half- 
past one o'clock, six companies of District volunteers, 
including the National Rifles and Turners, something 
less than five hundred men, stepped from Long Bridge 
upon Virginia soil. Nothing hostile was seen until they 
arrived at Alexandria, except some mounted pati-ols who 
put spurs to their horses, and fled. The vanguard was 
commanded hy General Stone, under whom General 
Smead led the centre, Adjutant Abbott the left, and 
General Stewart the right wing. They stopped within 
half a mile of the town, waiting for the main body, hav- 
ing made sure the coast was clear. Immediately after- 
ward, the New York Twelfth Regiment followed by way 
of the bridge ; soon after came two New Jersey regi- 
ments, and the New York Seventh. The city was qui- 
etly entered ; no resistance being offered, the Virginia 
forces evacuating tlie town, and falling back to Manassas 
Junction, where General Bonham (United States sena- 
tor) of South Carolina, was in command of the Confed- 
erate forces ; and when the sun rose on the morning of 
the 24th, it shone upon Alexandria occupied by Federal 
troops, no secession flag to be seen, and the stars and 
stripes waving over the city. 

The entrance to Alexandria was attended by an event 
which cast the deepest gloom over the community, and 
was the only fatality to the Federalists we have to record 
in capturing the city, — the assassination of Colonel 
Ellsworth. 

At four o'clock in the morning, Ellsworth's Zouaves 
crossed the river by boats from their encampment, and 
took position on the dock. 

Simultaneously with the landing of the Zouaves, the 
First Michio;an Regiment, Colonel Wilcox, entered Alex- 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 233 

andria by the road leading from Long Bridge, and pro- 
ceeded direct to the railroad depot, of which they took pos- 
session ; capturing a troop of rebel cavalry numbering 
thirty-five men, who, not being aware of the evacuation 
of the town by the Virginia forces, so quietly was it per- 
formed, came dashing up the street in the face of the 
Michiganders, and were obliged to surrender, horses, 
arms, and equipments. 

The Zouaves landed in good order, each company 
forming on the street facing the river. Company E was 
first to disembark, and was detailed to destroy the rail- 
road track, which they promptly performed. Colonel 
Ellsworth tlicn directed the adjutant to form the regi- 
ment, and, with the aid of Lieutenant Wisner and a file 
of men, started to cut the telegraph wires, in order that 
the news of the occupation of Alexandria by Federal 
troops might not be transmitted to Richmond. They- 
had proceeded about three blocks, when the attention of 
Colonel Ellsworth was attracted to a large secession flag 
flying from the Marshall House, a small hotel kept by 
James W. Jackson. He entered the hotel, and meeting 
a man in the hall, asked him who put the flag up ? The 
man answered that he did not know ; he was a boarder 
in the house. 

Colonel Ellsworth, Lieutenant Wisner, the chaplain of 
the regiment, Mr. House, a volunteer aid, and four pri- 
vates, went to the roof, when Colonel Ellsworth cut 
down the flag. The party were returning down stairs, 
preceded by private Brownell. As they left the attic, 
the man who said he was a boarder, but wdio proved to 
be the landlord Jackson, was met in the hall, having a 
double-barrelled gun, which he levelled at Brownell. 

The latter struck up the gun with his musket, when 
Jackson pulled both triggers, the contents lodging in the 
body of Colonel Ellsworth. 

The colonel fell on his face, only exclaiming, " My 

20* 



234 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

God !'* and, a few seconds afterwards, uttered a low moan, 
and ceased to breathe. 

Brownell, with the quickness of liglitning, levelled his 
musket at Jackson, and fired. The ball struck him on 
the bridge of the nose, and crashed through the skull, 
killing him instantly. 

As he fell, Brownell thrust him through with his bayo- 
net. Colonel Ellsworth's companions held guard some 
ten minutes, until reinforced by company A. 

The company made a litter of muskets, and placing 
the body upon it returned to the boat, leaving a detach- 
ment to guard the hotel, and make prisoners of all its 
occupants, sixteen men. 

The body of Ellsworth was conveyed to Washington, 
where it was laid out in the neat little " Engine" house 
in the centre of the navy yard, and visited by thousands 
of tearful spectators until the next day, when it was 
sent under escort to New York, and from thence to Me- 
chanicsville for interment. 

All the regiments in New York were represented in 
the funeral cortege of Colonel Ellsworth, from the City 
Hall to the steamboat landing, en rovte for Mechanics- 
ville, President of the Fire Department, Chief Engineer 
and Commissioner, the parents of tlie deceased. General 
John A. Dix, officers of the First Division of volunteers, 
Zouave committee. Mayor, Common Council, etc., fol- 
lowed. Next to the hearse, marched Francis E. Brown- 
ell and two other Zouaves, who were with Colonel Ells- 
worth at the time he was shot, Brownell, bearing on his 
bayonet the rebel flag stained with his colonel's blood. 
The wildest grief seized the Zouaves at the death of their 
leader, which gave way to the most intense rage, and 
they swore, with a horrid oath, that his death should be 
avenged ; when the news of Ellsworth's death reached 
the Zouaves at the hospital, a number of them got out of 
their sick beds, and though scarcely able to stand, man- 



THE REBEULION IN" THE UNITED STATES. 235 

aged to totter to the place where the corpse was laid in 
the navy yard, and there vowed eternal fidelity to him 
and the cause in wliich they were engaged. A new regi- 
ment was speedily raised, composed of the " roughs " of 
New York, and called the " Ellsworth's Avengers ; " and 
in a few days were armed and equipped, and left for 
the seat of war on their mission of revenge. 

The death of Ellsworth not only cast a gloom over the 
community, but it gave an impetus to military operations 
in raising new troops, and fired the patriotism of those 
who had already gone forth.^ 



* Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth was a young man of great promise, 
generous impulses, active, energetic, and devoted to his country, had 
already won a national reputation by his genius as a military discipli- 
narian. The whole country were struck with admiration at his mas- 
terly drill of the Chicago Zouaves. He originated many of the most 
striking evolutions which gave such a reput'ation to that corps, and 
which diffused such a salutary impetus to military enthusiasm through- 
out the free States. 

When, therefore, Colonel Ellsworth closed his connection with the 
Chicago Zouaves for a desk in Mr. Lincoln's law office, and the signs of 
war began to loom up, his influential friends besought his active services. 
Ere the sound of the " riot in Baltimore," had scarce died away, in 
the ardor of his patriotism, with a true appreciation of bis own pecu- 
liar genius, he repaired to New York, and announced his purpose to 
raise a regiment of Zouaves from the hardy and determined, but by 
no means docile fire companies of that city. 

Ellsworth's keen sagacity foresaw that, reckless as they were, if he 
could gain their confidence, they would prove invaluable in the ser- 
vice of their country. The proposition took ; and soon it was a sight 
to see the slight, delicate-looking youth only twenty-seven years of 
age, controlling with the eye of command, and compelling into strict 
subordination those lines of rough, powerful, and reckless men ; but 
they soon learned to know and love their commander, and together 
they were ready for their country's call. They heard it, and obeyed. 
Alas for Ellsworth, he was struck down " ere he could see his foe in 
manly combat." Sad blow, — sad for the country,. — terribly sad for 
the cause which prompted the deed. In the hearts of that " unre- 
strained" regiment was laid up a fearful store of retribution, to fall 



236 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

At the Marshall House the scene was one of the ut- 
most confusion. Its proprietor lay weltering in his 
blood. His wife, upon discovering the fotality, ap- 
proached his body uttering the most agonizing cries, and 
although treated with the greatest consideration that 
could be offered to her in her misery, she remained a 
long time in the wildest state of frenzy. 

It is said that Jackson was a man possessing a most 
ardent temper, quick to act without reflection, and 
would do one act as soon as another in a moment of im- 
pulse ; that only a few weeks previous he protected a 
Union man against a secession mob, with the same dou- 
ble-barrelled gun with which he shot Colonel Ellsworth ; 
and in this instance, no doubt, acted according to his 
honest convictions of right, in protecting his house 
and property. He was laid out in a room in the second 
story of the hotel, and buried in the secession uniform, 
the coat-buttons bearing the coat-of-arms of Virginia. 

The effect of the death of Jackson upon the hearts of 
the Southern people, was fully equal to that produced 
upon the North by the assassination of Ellsworth. They 
honored him with the sacred name of " martyr," and 
celebrated his heroic deed in song, which served to be- 
guile their long tedious marches toward the Federal 
lines. 

May 25. General Butler decided that slaves were 
property, therefore contraband of war. Three fugitive 
slaves, the property of Colonel Malloy of the rebel army, 

like a shower of fire upon the foes of theii' country, and in their weary 
marches when they began to falter by the way, their watchword was, 
" Ellsworth is fallen, we follow for revenge ! " While, therefore, we 
mourn the loss of so young and promising an officer, we cannot but 
deprecate the "rashness" which prompted the deed by which he lost 
his life. 

Light be the turf upon thee, young soldier, and softly rest the hand 
of affliction upon the head of thy aged and devoted parents ! 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 237 

sought protection within the Federal lines. An officer 
with a flag of truce demanded their rendition, but was 
informed by General Butler, that under the circum- 
stances, he considered the fugitives contraband of war ; 
but as soon as Colonel Malloy should visit the fortress, 
and take a solemn oath to obey the laws of the United 
States, his property would be promptly restored. 

The First Regiment New Hampshire volunteers left 
Concord for the war. What has been said of the de- 
parture of other regiments, is true of this. The city 
presented a scene of wild enthusiasm, flags and stream- 
ers waved from nearly every building, and the air re- 
sounded with the cheers and hurrahs of the thousands 
who had assembled to witness their departure. As they 
reached the lower part of the city, the last gun boomed 
from the Merrimac Valley, and New Hampshire's First 
Regiment was fairly on its way. Arrived at Manchester, 
the wildest enthusiasm again greeted them. Hundreds 
of wives, mothers, and sisters, were assembled to bid 
farewell to the brave soldiers who had left the kind en- 
dearments of home, to do battle for their country ; show- 
ing that the " Old Granite State " in point of patriotism, 
is not a whit behind her sister States, Maine, Massa- 
chusetts, and Vermont. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



In thought I view the dread array, 
Of gartered knights on battle steeds 
With clanging armor 



Mat 26. Postmaster-General Blair issued an order to 
the effect that all postal service in the seceded States, 
would be discontiniied from and after the 31st of May. 

May 27. The blockade of the ports of Savannah and 
Mobile commenced. 

Brigadier-General McDowell, United States Army, as- 
sumed command of the Federal forces in Virginia, and 
relieved Major-General Sandford, New York State mi- 
litia. The department of General McDowell included 
that portion of Virginia lying east of the Alleghanies, 
and nortli of James River, exclusive of Fortress Mon- 
roe. 

May 28. Brigadier-General E. W. Pierce of the Mas- 
sachusetts Militia, was appointed to succeed General 
Butler, promoted. 

May 30. Ex-Governor N. P. Banks, of Massachusetts, 
was appointed a major-general, and Robert C. Schenck 
of Ohio, a brigadier-general. 

General Butler having asked information from head- 
quarters in reference to the matter of fugitive slaves, 
there being a great number in the fort, was ordered to 
retain all such as came within his lines, employ them, 
and keep an account of their services and expenses. 

May 31. Colonel John C. Fremont commissioned 
major-general. 

238 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 239 

General Lyon superseded General Harney, in com- 
mand in the West. 

United States steamer Freeborn, Captain Ward, bom- 
barded the rebel batteries at Aquia Creek. The en- 
gaoement lasted two hours, when tlie Freeborn was 
beaten off; returned again the next morning in com- 
pany with the " Pawnee," and renewed the engage- 
ment, commencing at half-past eleven, and kept up an 
incessant firing for five hours, without any serious re- 
sult on either side ; finally, the steamers abandoned the 
attempt, and hauled off beyond the range of the enemy's 
guns. 

June 1. A number of skirmishes took place between 
the Federal and rebel pickets in the vicinity of Alexan- 
dria and Fairfax Court House. 

Cavalry Company B, of the Second United States Cav- 
alry, and forty-seven privates under Lieutenant Tom}> 
kins and Second Lieutenant Gordon, accompanied by 
Quartermaster Fearing, Assistant Quartermaster Carey, 
and Adjutant Frank of the New York Fifth, were recon- 
noitering within three hundred yards of Fairfax Court 
House by the Winchester road, when they were fired on 
by two pickets. They took one a prisoner, and the 
other escaped ; the cavalry then charged into the village 
from the north side, and were fired on from the Union 
Hotel, formerly kept by Jackson who shot Colonel Ells- 
worth, but the man firing was instantly shot down ; they 
then charged tlu-ough the principal street, and were 
fired on from many houses, and from platoons behind 
fences. ' 

Having thus passed to the end of the village they 
wheeled instantly, charging back ; they were then met 
by two large detachments with two field-pieces ; turning, 
they cut througli a third detachment in the rear and 
left, bringing five prisoners, and killing Captain John 
Marr of the Warrenton Rifles, and several others. When 



240 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Captain Marr heard the troops coming up, he ordered 
them to halt ; they replied they were Captain Powell's 
cavalry company. Marr ordered his men to arms, when 
the dragoons fired a valley which killed Captain Marr 
instantly. The rebels rushed out in undress, and fired 
on the cavalry at random. The cavalry then fired three 
volleys, charged, and retired. 

Lieutenant Tompkins lost two men killed, and two 
taken prisoners ; but the next day word came into the 
camp that the two dragoons missing from Company B, 
were captured by the rebels, and sentenced to be hung. 
Company B were immediately summoned, and, mount- 
ing, rode up to the Court House, and having by some 
means ascertained the precise locality of their missing 
comrades, made a dash through the village, rescued 
them, and brought them back in triumph to the 
camp. 

June 3. Two columns of troops from General McClel- 
lan's command, one under Colonel Kelly, composed of 
Virginia volunteers, and the other Colonel Crittenden, 
composed of Indiana volunteers, left Grafton early on 
the night of the 2d, and, after marching the entire night 
about twenty miles through a drenching rain, arrived at 
Philippa, surprised a camp of rebels of two hundred 
strong, and routed them, killing fifteen, and capturing a 
large amount of arms, horses, ammunition, provisions, 
and camp equipage. 

The rebels dispersed in great confusion through the 
woods, the Federal troops in hot pursuit. Colonel Kelly, 
while charging in advance of his men, was shot with a 
revolver by a rebel, who had charge of a provision 
wagon. One of the Federal troops was killed, and sev- 
eral slightly wounded. 

The disaster to the rebels was inconsiderable, though 
it was the cause of some recrimination, and subjected 
Colonel Porterfield, the Confederate commander, to trial 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 241 

by court-martial ; yet it was regarded as not much more 
than an unfortunate inauguration of their campaign in 
Western Virginia. 

Colonel Porterfield had been ordered to Grafton, with 
written instructions from General Lee, to raise and re- 
ceive into the service from that part of the State five 
thousand volunteers ; but finding that the country was 
in a state of revolution, and that there was a large and 
increasing force of Federal troops at Camp Denison in 
Ohio, opposite Parkersburg, and another in the vicinity 
of Wheeling, Colonel Porterfield wrote to the command- 
ing general, that unless a strong force was sent very 
soon. North-western Virginia would be overrun. 

Upon directing the captains of organized volunteer 
companies to proceed with their companies to Grafton, 
they replied that not more than twenty out of companies 
numbering sixty, were willing to take up arms on the 
side of the State. That the others declared, " if they 
were compelled to fight, it would be in defence of the 
Union. Colonel Porterfield and his few volunteer troops 
had been at Grafton but a few days, when he received 
reliable information of the force of the Federalists, and 
withdrew his command to Philippi, where he was sur- 
prised and routed on the third of June. It was esti- 
mated that there were seven thousand United States 
troops at Grafton and Philippi. 

General T. A. Morris in command, issued a proc- 
lamation announcing that Western Virginia was then 
free from secessionists, and calling upon the people to 
come to the support of the constitutional government, 
and serve for the defence of their own soil ; that arms 
and munitions would be furnished them. 

June 6. The Harriet Lane exchanged about fifty 
shots with Pig Point Battery, nearly opposite Newport 
News on the James River. She received two shots, 
wounding five men, one severely. She was about three- 

21 



242 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

quarters of a mile from the battery, the seven embrasures 
of which disclosed heavy pieces. 

Thus far the operations of the navy had amounted to 
nothing, if we except spending a great deal of money for 
the United States, the occasional capture of a small ves- 
sel or two, which they considered as prizes, the gunboats 
being repulsed in every attempt upon the rebel fortifica- 
tions. 

June 8. General Patterson's advance moved from 
Chambersburg toward Harper's Ferry. 

Governor Hicks, of Maryland, warned the government 
of the perils menacing the national capital from his 
State, and requested that a force miglit be sent to Fred- 
erick City, and that the regiments in Baltimore might be 
reinforced ; that there were four thousand secessionists in 
Baltimore with concealed arms, waiting for a favorable 
opportunity to rise, and issued a proclamation calling on 
all having arms belonging to that State, to surrender them. 

Witli Alexandria and Fortress Monroe in their pos- 
session, the Federal government held the most impor- 
tant passages into Virginia ; General McDowell in com- 
mand of the forces thrown across the Potomac, General 
Butler placed in command at Fortress Monroe and New- 
port News, and the town of Hampton occupied by Fed- 
eral troops, it would seem that in the event of an en- 
gagement with the enemy in that section of country, 
victory on tbe part of the Federals would be certain. 

Yet, notwithstanding these advantages, the govern- 
ment forces met with a severe repulse, in the first seri- 
ous contest of the war, the battle of Bethel. 

June 10. General Butler, having learned that the 
rebels were forming an intrenched camp with strong- 
batteries at Great Bethel, nine miles from Hampton, on 
the Yorktown road, deemed it necessary to dislodge them. 

Accordingly, movements were made from Fortress 
Monroe and Newport News. 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 243 



About midnight, Colonel Duryea's Zouaves, and Colo- 
nel Townsend's Albany regiment, crossed ^he river at 
Hampton by means of six large batteaux, manned by 
the Naval Brigade, and took up the line of march, the 
former some two miles in advance of the latter. 

At the same time, Colonel Bendix's regiment and a 
detachment of the Vermont and Massachusetts regiments 
at Newport News, moved forward to form a junction 
with the regiments from Fortress Monroe, at Little 
Bethel, about half way between Hampton and Great 
Bethel. 

The Zouaves passed Little Bethel at about four o'clock. 
Bendix's regiment arrived next, and took position at the 
intersection of the roads, but not understanding the sig- 
nal, the German regiment, in the darkness of the morn- 
ing, fired upon Colonel Townsend's column, then march- 
ing in close order, and led by Lieutenant Butler, the aid 
of General Butler, with two pieces of artillery. 

In the hurry and confusion of the moment, the fire 
was irregularly returned by some of Colonel Townsend's 
men, who feared that they had fallen into an ambuscade. 

Colonel Townsend's column immediately retreated to 
an eminence near by, and were not pursued by Colonel 
Bendix's men. By this almost criminal blunder two 
men of Colonel Townsend's regiment were killed, and 
eight more or less wounded. 

Hearing this cannonading and firing in his rear, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Washburn, not knowing but that his com- 
munication might be cut off, immediately reversed his 
march, as did Colonel Duryea, and marched back to 
form a junction with his reserves. 

General Fierce, who was with Colonel Townsend's regi- 
ment, feariiigthat the enemy had got notice of their ap- 
proach, and liad posted himself in force on the line of 
march, and not getting any communication from Colonel 
Duryea, sent back to General Butler for reinforcements. 



244 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

who immediately ordered Colonel Allen's regiment to be 
put in motion, and they reached Hampton about seven 
o'clock. 

In the mesLix time, the true state of facts having been 
ascertained by General Pierce, the regiments effected a 
junction, and resumed the line of march. At the mo- 
ment of the firing of Colonel Bendix, Colonel Duryea 
had surprised a part of an outlying guard of the enemy, 
consisting of thirteen persons, who were captured and 
sent to Fortress Monroe. 

Of course by this firing all hopes of a surprise above 
the camp at Little Bethel was lost, and, upon marching 
upon it, it was found to have been vacated, and the cav- 
alry had pressed on toward Big Bethel. Colonel Duryea, 
however, destroyed the camp at Little Bethel, and ad- 
vanced. 

G'eneral Pierce then, with the advice of his colonels, 
thought best to attempt to carry the works of the enemy 
at Great Bethel, where the Confederates, to the number 
of about eighteen hundred, under Colonel J. B. Magru- 
der, were intrenched. 

The attack commenced about half past nine o'clock, 
and was received by a battery of the Richmond Howit- 
zers, under command of Major Randolph, who returned 
the shot, aimed by himself, from a Parrott gun on their 
main battery. 

At about ten o'clock. General Pierce sent a note to 
General Butler, saying that there was a sharp engage- 
ment with the enemy, but he thought he should be able 
to maintain his position, until reinforcements could come 
up. Acting upon this information. Colonel Carr's regi- 
ment, which had been ordered in the morning to pro- 
ceed as far as Newmarket Bridge, was allowed to go for- 
ward, and General Butler immediately made disposition 
from Newport News to have Colonel Phelps, from the 
four regiments there, forward aid if necessary. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 245 

The engagement lasted about four hours ; the Federal 
troops behaved with great steadiness and courage, but 
the enemy were supported by a battery of heavy rifled 
cannon, and so completely masked, that no man could 
be seen, and their position could only be defined by the 
flashes of their guns. 

The firing on the part of the Confederates was delib- 
erate, and suspended whenever masses of the Federal 
troops were not within range, evidently determined to 
make the most of their ammunition. 

The position of the rebels was excellently chosen. 
After crossing a narrow but deep stream, the road deflects 
to the left. Along its side was planted the rebel battery, 
consisting of one twelve pound rifled cannon and two 
field-pieces. The line of intrenchments then followed 
the right side of the road, a ditch between them, the 
stream and morass on the left of the road widening so 
as to render futile any attempt to outflank the rebels on 
that side, and the formation of the ground on the right 
made a flank movement very circuitous. However, it is 
said that a well-concerted movement at- one time might 
have carried the works ; but Brigadier-General Pierce, 
who commanded the expedition, appears to have lost his 
presence of mind, to say the least, and the Troy regi- 
ment stood an hour exposed to the galling fire. The 
Zouaves made two charges on the rebel batteries, but 
could not pass the ditch, and were obliged to fall back. 
Other regiments came up in good order, but for want of 
a good commander, fell into confusion. 

All attempts to dislodge the enemy seemed now to be 
futile ; all hopes of gaining the day had fled, and the 
Federal troops were falling back in dismay, when the 
bullet of a North Carolina rifleman pierced the breast of 
the brave Federal officer, Major Winthrop, while he was 
standing on a log, waving his sword, and attempting to 
rally his men to the charge. He was buried by the Con- 

21* 



246 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

federates who did honor to his memory, and were loud 
in their praises of his bravery. The body was after- 
wards recovered, and sent to New Haven, Ct., where it 
was buried with military honors.^ 

The order to retreat was at last given, but at that mo- 
ment Lieutenant Grebble of the regulars, in command 
of the artillery, was struck by a cannon ball and in- 
stantly killed. 

He had spiked his guri, on account of his surprise at 
receiving orders to retreat, presuming that General 
Pierce had discovered attempts to cut him off, and that 
should his gun be captured in the retreat he would make 
it harmless. He had just driven in the spike, and was 
gallantly endeavoring to withdraw his command, when 
the fatal ball struck him. 

Captain George W. Wilson of the Troy regiment, with 
Quartermaster McArthur, took possession of the gun, and, 
placing the mangled corpse of the lieutenant upon it, 
nobly brought it off the field with the retreating- 
army. 

Lieutenant Grebble was an efficient officer, and much 
beloved by his brother officers and the men of his com- 
mand. 

The loss on the side of the Federals was twenty-five, 
killed, and about forty-seven wounded. The rebel loss, 
fighting as they were under the impenetrable cover of 
their batteries, was small, probably about thirteen. 

June 11. Colonel Louis Wallace, with a portion of the 
Lidiana Zouaves, surprised a camp of five hundred rebel 

' Major Theodore Winthrop was a member of the New York 
Seventh Regiment Artillery corps. He lefl New York for the seat of 
war with the most eager promptness, as soon as the requisition of the 
President was announced, and distinguished himself among the most 
enthusiastic in the dragging of howitzers, and all the heavy work of 
the Seventh's march. When the regiment returned from Washing- 
ton, he remained to become General Butler's military secretary, 
which position he held at the time of his death. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 247 

troops at Romney, Va., and, after a sharp conflict, com- 
pletely routed them. He killed two, wounded one, and 
captured some prisoners, camp equipage, provisions, 
medical stores, and arms. 

The rebels, after retreating some distance, were rein- 
forced and marched back to Romney, when the small 
Federal force remaining there retired. Colonel Wallace 
lost none, and only one wounded. 

June 12. Governor Jackson, of Missouri, issued a 
proclamation calling for fifty thousand State militia for 
active service in the State, and demanded of General 
Lyon that no Federal troops be allowed on the soil of 
Missouri ; which reqniest was flatly refused by General 
Lyon, who asserted the right of the government to march 
or quarter troops in any part of the Union. - 

June 14. Governor Jackson having learned that Gen- 
eral Lyon was on the way to attack him, evacuated Jef- 
ferson City, and fled to Booneville, where, in conjunction 
with General Price, two thousand troops were concen- 
trated, well armed and equipped. Intrenchments were 
thrown up, and provision was made for a determined 
stand. On the following day. General Lyon took posses- 
sion of the capital of Missouri, with five companies of 
Colonel Blair's regiment of Missouri volunteers, under 
command of Lieutenant-Colonel Andrews, and a com- 
pany of regular artillery under Captain Totten. As the 
' boats containing the Federal troops approached the city, 
they were hailed with enthusiastic cheers by an immense 
concourse of citizens. 

In the march of the Federal troops through the difier- 
ent portions of Missouri, the enthusiasm of the thousands 
of true people in that State showed itself in the most 
extravagant demonstrations. 

They were most kindly welcomed at every village, and 
indeed at almost every farm-house. Men greeted them 
with loud shouts for the " Star-Spangled Banner." The 



248 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

children were lavish in their hurrahs, and the women — 
God bless them — greeted them all along the route, 
with clouds of waving white handkerchiefs. In one 
place in Phelps county three women appeared on a bal- 
cony waving a large American flag. The shout of 
the boys in response was enthusiastic and deafen- 
ing. 

June 14. Harper's Ferry was burnt and evacuated by 
the rebels ; the force stationed there, consisted of nine 
regiments of infantry and several companies of artillery, 
making in all about twelve thousand men, under com- 
mand of General Joseph E. Johnston, who had been a 
quartermaster-general in the United States service, but 
resigned, and joined the Confederates of his native State, 
Virginia. 

The rebels had received information that General Pat- 
terson was approaching Virginia by the route leading 
into the valley from Pennsylvania and Maryland through 
"Winchester, and also that General McClellan was mak- 
ing his way into the upper portion of the valley. Con- 
sequently, when Colonel "Wallace routed the rebels at 
Eomney, and the news reached Harper's Ferry, that 
Romney was occupied by Federal troops, it was supposed 
to be the vanguard of McClellan's army. It was with 
them, therefore, an object of the utmost importance to 
prevent a junction of the forces of Patterson and McClel- 
lan. 

Accordingly, on the morning of the fourteenth, the 
Confederate army left Harper's Ferry and fell back to 
Winchester, where they were in a position to oppose 
either McClellan from the west, or Patterson from the 
north-east, and to form a junction with General Beaure- 
gard, who had relinquished his command at Charlestown, 
and been placed in command at Manassas, whenever it 
should be necessary. 

On the morning of the evacuation of Harper's Ferry 



THE KEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 249 

at a very early hour, a scene occurred which goes to 
make up the desolation of war, and shows the bitter 
earnestness of the Confederates. The splendid railroad 
bridge of the Baltimore and Ohio road, across the Poto- 
mac — one of tlie most superb structures of its kind on 
the continent — was set on fire by the rebels at its north- 
ern end, while about four hundred feet at its southern 
extremity was blown up ; most of the government build- 
ings were also destroyed, many of them were not only 
large, but very high. More than a dozen of these immense 
edifices were blazing at once, which, together with the 
burning bridge and the retreating troops, must have 
presented a scene awfully sublime. All the machinery 
of the armory had been removed to Richmond several 
days previous, and now only two of the twenty armory 
buildings escaped the fire. The loss to government 
in buildings alone, is estimated at five hundred thousand 
dollars. 

June 15. The First Regiment Massachusetts volun- 
teers. Colonel Cowdin, who were the first for three 
years' service, left Boston for Washington. 

June 17. Western Virginia convention unanimously 
voted its independence of the rebel section of the 
State. 

A skirmish took place at Vienna (about fifteen miles 
from Alexandria), in which a detachment of Federal 
troops under Brigadier-General Schenck were defeated. 

In pursuance of General McDowell's orders, a train 
was sent out from Alexandria to Vienna on a recon- 
noitering expedition, taking the First Regiment Ohio 
volunteers, Colonel McCook, and accompanied by Gen- 
eral Schenck. 

They left camp with 668 rank and file, and twenty-nine 
field and company officers. They proceeded slowly to- 
ward Vienna, leaving companies I and K, with an ag- 
gregate of 135 men, at the crossing of the road, and sent 



250 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Parrott with two companies of 117 
men to Falls Church, to patrol the roads in that direc- 
tion. Stationed Companies D and F, 135 men, to guard 
the railroad and bridge between the crossing and Vi- 
enna, and arrived at Vienna with four companies, 
namely : Company E, Captain Paddock ; Company C, 
Lieutenant Woodward ; Company G, Captain Bailey ; 
Company H, Captain Haslett, all numbering 275 men. 

On turning the curve slowly, within one quarter of a 
mile of Vienna, they were fired upon by raking masked 
batteries of three guns, with shells, round shot and grape, 
killing and wounding the men on the platforms, and in 
the cars before the train could be stopped. When the 
train stopped, the engine could not, on account of dam- 
age to some part of the machinery, draw the train out 
of the fire, the engine being in the rear. The troops 
left the cars, and retired to the right and left of the town 
through the woods. 

The engineer, when the cars were vacated, detached 
his engine with one passenger car from the rest of the 
disabled train, and run to Alexandria, thus depriving 
the troops of a rallying point, and of all means of con- 
veying the wounded, who had to be carried on litters and 
in blankets. 

Finding the enemy's batteries were sustained by a 
large force of infantry and cavalry, they fell back along 
the railroad, throwing out skirmishers on both flanks. 
Tlius they retired slowly, bearing off their wounded for 
a distance of five miles, arriving at the telegraphic camp 
a])out ten o'clock. Eight Union soldiers were killed, and 
seven wounded. 

The killed were buried near the camp of the First 
Regiment, with the usual military honors. " Stand vip 
for the Union, boys," and " stand firm for the old flag ! " 
were the expressions uttered in their last moments by 
several heroic fellows who were mortally wounded. 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 251 

The rebels lost in killed six. 

June 17. Battle of Booneville, Mo. The rebel troops 
under Governor Jackson and General Price was routed 
by General Lyon. Missouri having been the scene of so 
many riots and much bloodshed, and the people becom- 
ing so disaffected, the State authorities through General 
Price and General Harney, at that time in command of 
the United States forces in Missouri, on the twenty-first 
of May, agreed upon a plan to maintain the public 
peace ; but in open violation of this agreement, the State 
authorities had organized upon a large scale the means 
of warfare, and, having virtually declared war, abandoned 
the capital, issued orders for the destruction of the rail- 
road and telegraph, and proceeded to put into execution 
their hostile purpose. Thus devolved on General Lyon, 
who succeeded General Harney, the necessity of meeting 
the issue as best he could ; accordingly, he proceeded 
up the river with a portion of his force to Booneville, 
and discovering a battery on the river bank he turned 
back, and dropped down the river eight miles below 
Booneville, and landed a force of 1,700 men and four 
field pieces, leaving one hundred men to guard the 
boats. 

When within six miles of Booneville, he was attacked 
by the State troops, 3,000 strong, under Colonel Little, 
who were concentrated in a thick undergrowth, and in 
wheat fields. After a short fight, the State troops were 
driven back, and their camp, with equipage, provisions, 
horses, etc., taken possession of by the Federal troops. 
They retreated through Booneville in disorder, with no 
one to rally them to a second charge. General Price 
being absent, and Governor Jackson, as soon as the bat- 
tle commenced, surrounded himself with Captain Kelly's 
company as a body-guard and retreated, leaving the com- 
mand to devolve upon Colonel Little ; although the 
troops fled in all directions, yet many were taken prison- 



252 THE REBELLION I\ THE UNITED STATES. 

ers, and paroled. The loss of the Federal troops was 
four killed, and nine wounded. The loss of the State 
troops was fifteen killed, and twenty wounded. 

General Lyon then issued a proclamation to the people 
of Missouri, defining his position, and declaring that he 
should scrupulously avoid all interference with the busi- 
ness, rights, and property of every description, recog- 
nized by the laws of the State, and belonging to law- 
abiding citizens, but that he should hold it equally his 
duty to maintain the paramount authority of the United 
States with the force at his command, which would be 
retained only so long as opposition should make it neces- 
sary, and invited all persons who had taken up arms, or 
were preparing to do so, to return to their homes, and 
relinquish their hostilities toward the Federal govern- 
ment, assuring them they could do so without being mo- 
lested for past occurrences. 

On the day following the battle of Booneville, about 
sunrise, the Home Guards (Union), eight hundred 
strong, under Captain Cook, in camp near the town of 
Cole, Mo., were attacked by a large party of secession- 
ists ; fifteen of the Guards were killed, and twenty 
wounded, many of them severely, and thirty taken pris- 
oners ; the rest made their escape ; tlie secessionists then 
left, and, joining Governor Jackson at Warsaw, pro- 
ceeded south. 

June 20. Major-General McClellan took command of 
the Department of Oliio, which comprises all of the 
States of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and that part of 
Virginia lying north of the Great Kanawha River, and 
west of Greenbrier River and the Maryland line. 

June 26. Colonel Wallace, after the battle of Romney, 
fell back to Cumberland, where he encamped, and sent 
out mounted pickets to different posts along the several ap- 
proaches to Cumberland. Finding it next to impossible to 
get reliable information of the enemy, on the 26th of June 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 253 

he united his pickets, thirteen in all, and directed them, 
if possible, to go to Frankfort, a town midway between 
Cumberland and Romney, to see if there were rebel 
troops there. 

They went within a quarter of a mile of the place, and 
found it full of cavalry. Returning, they overtook forty 
horses, and at once charged on them, routing and driv- 
ing them back more than a mile, killing eight of them, 
and securing seventeen horses. Corporal Hays, in com- 
mand of the Federal pickets, was desperately wounded 
with sabre cuts and bullets. Taking him back, they 
halted about an hour, and were then attacked by the 
enemy, who were reinforced to about seventy-five men. 

The attack was so sudden, that they abandoned the 
horses, and crossed to a small island at the mouth of 
Patterson Creek. The cliarge of the rebels was bold 
and confident, yet twenty-three fell under the fire of the 
pickets, close about and on the island ; they (the pick- 
ets) wore finally driven off and scattered, each man for 
himself, but succeeded after a while in reaching the 
camp at Cumberland. Thirty rebels were killed ; and 
one Union soldier, who was taken prisoner and brutally 
murdered. 

While these scenes were being enacted in northern 
Virginia, we have to record some minor operations of 
the navy. 

About seventy miles below Washington, the Potomac 
River makes almost a right angle in its course to the 
ocean. Here, opposite tlie deep estuary which makes up 
into Maryland, is Matthias Point, a high shore covered 
with a thick growth of pines. At this place, the Con- 
federates have often received aid and comfort from their 
Maryland friends, who have crossed the Potomac at 
night, conveying munitions of war and various articles 
contraband. Toward the latter end of June, Captain 
James H. Ward, of the steamer Freeborn, and com- 

22 



254 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

mander of the Potomac flotilla, in plying up and down 
the river, saw indications of a rebel force in the woods 
not far from the Point ; thinking it would do no harm to 
ascertain if any persons were there, he dropped a few 
shells among the trees, which was followed by a tre- 
mendous scampering over the hills toward Fredericks- 
burg, a sleepy, quiet old town on the Rappahannock a 
few miles distant, formerly the home of the mother of 
Washington. 

On Thursday, the 2Gth of June, Captain Ward, in his 
trip along the river, observed that the rebels were still in 
the vicinity, and sent word to Captain Rowan of the 
Pawnee, who was lying off Aquia Creek a few miles 
above, that he wanted some men to aid in a recon- 
noisance. Accordingly, Lieutenant Chaplin, of the Paw- 
nee, was despatched to his assistance, with two cutters 
and fifteen men. Captain Ward before landing the 
men, felt the premises over by tossing a few shells in 
different directions into the woods ; but no response was 
given. Accordingly, Lieutenant Chaplin with his men 
and some from the Freeborn, making in all thirty-five 
men, landed on the Point and sent out pickets, who 
penetrated the woods several hundred yards, but discov- 
ered no enemy. Captain Ward decided to erect a bat- 
tery on the point covering the approaches inland, and to 
put his howitzers into it, by which, covered by the 
thirty-two pounders of the Freeborn, he hoped to be able 
to hold the Point. Tbe men were set to work filling 
bags with sand which were piled up for defence. They 
worked unmolested for some tiiue, when suddenly there 
was an alarm from the steamer. A large body of men 
having been discovered approaching through the trees, 
Lieutenant Chaplin retreated to the shore, and the reb- 
els, about six hundred in number, concealed in the 
thick growth of underbrush, opened a murderous fire 
from Minie muskets. The party took to their boats. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 255 

The Freeborn opened its fire, which was hotly returned 
by the protected enemy at a distance of about two 
hundred and fifty yards. In tlie hurry and excite- 
ment of the moment, the boats pushed off for tlie ship, 
leaving several of the party on shore, includihg Lieuten- 
ant Chaplin, who, with his comrades, plunged into the 
stream amid a tremendous shower of balls. John Wil- 
liams, coxswain of one of the cutters, stood in the stern 
holding the flag. A ball struck the staff about three feet 
from the tip, and splintered it in pieces. He seized the 
flag as it fell, grasped the broken stump, waved it over 
his head, called upon the rowers to back water, and 
went back and picked up the four men, including Lieu- 
tenant Chaplin. During this time, the balls fell like 
hail around them, nineteen piercing the flag. However, 
the boats reached the steamer without any serious casu- 
alty. Meanwhile the Freeborn had not been idle. Ten 
shells had been thrown among the rebels, and the gun- 
ner, while preparing the eleventh, received a shot in one 
of his wrists. Captain Ward promptly stepped forward 
and took his place, and while in the act of stooping to 
sight the gun, received a Minie ball in his breast. He 
fell on the deck, and in a few moments expired. In con- 
sequence of this casualty, the Freeborn steamed away, 
having one killed, one, mortally, and three slightly 
wounded. The body and the wounded were transferred 
to the Pawnee, and conveyed to Washington. 

Cockswain John Williams was subsequently promoted 
to master's mate for his noble conduct. 

The little brick engine-house in the centre of the navy 
yard at Washington, which had so recently been the 
temporary resting-place of the mortal remains of the gal- 
lant Ellsworth, was again draped in mourning ; again, 
for a brief period, it was a receptacle for the noble 
dead ; again, marines with shouldered muskets were 
keeping guard in sorrowful silence, while within some 



256 THE REBELLION IX THE UNITED STATES. 

half-dozen sailors were sitting with heavy hearts and 
tearful eyes. There lay the body of their brave com- 
mander covered with a starry pall. That once strong 
heart, energetic will, and hard-working brain, were mo- 
tionless evermore. 

Captain Ward was fifty-sis years of age, a native of 
Connecticut, an energetic man and admirable artillerist, 
as also very brave, and had won honorable distinction. 

The untimely death of Captain "Ward, deranged a plan 
which he had nearly perfected for the safety of Potomac 
steamers, and the rebels took advantage of the calamity 
to practise their accustomed piracy. Accordingly, they 
fixed upon a plan to seize the steamer " St. Nicholas " of 
and from Baltimore, nvhich proved to be a bold, piratical 
operation. 

The St. Nicholas left Baltimore on the 29th of June, 
laden with freight for consumption by the citizens of St. 
Mary's and Charles counties, Md., and with other cargo 
for Washington, Alexandria, and Georgetown. She also 
had on board about fifty secession passengers, most of 
whom were disguised as mechanics going to points on the 
Maryland shore of the Potomac. 

Among the number was one disguised as a female, 
" the French lady," heavily veiled, and complaining of 
indisposition, retired immediately to a state-room, after 
going on board. After the steamer left Point Lookout, 
the sick lady, which proved to be a man by the name of 
Thomas, threw off his disguise, and with the aid of the 
passengers, seized the boat, which was immediately put 
across to Coney River, on the Virginia shore. There the 
rest of the passengers, not parties to the plot, were 
landed, including the captain of the boat, who was placed 
under guard. The steamer then went on a piratical 
cruise toward the Rappahannock River, capturing three 
vessels laden with ice, coal, and coffee, with all of which 
he made his way to Fredericksburg. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



257 



But on the Sth of July Lieutenant Carmichael, of 
Provost Marshal Kenley's police, went down the river in 
a tug, and boarded steamer Mary Washington, to arrest 
a man named Neill Gran, who was charged with being 
engaged in the riot on the 19th of April, and who it was 
thought would come on board at Patuxent. On coming 
up the river, he learned that Captain Thomas, of St. 
Mary's county, who took command of the St. Nicholas, 
and headed the pirates, was also on board, with seven of 
his confederates, their object being, it is supposed, to 
seize another steamer in a similar manner. 

Carmichael, on getting abreast of Fort McHenry, or- 
dered the captain to stop at the wharf, where he made 
known the facts to General Banks, who ordered a com- 
pany of Massachusetts troops to arrest all on board. 
Seven of the pirates were found, but Captain Thomas 
had himself fled. After an hour's search, he was found 
in a large bureau drawer in the ladies' cabin. They 
were all detained at the fort, with several witnesses, who 
were on board the St. Nicholas at the time of the 
seizure, including the captain and engineers. 



22* 



r" 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Oh, bid the listening nations kneel in prayer, 
And veil their brows in anguish to the ground. 

July 1. Privateer Sumter escaped from the Mississippi 
and put to sea. 

July 2. General Patterson's advance into Virginia. 

Battle near Martinsburg. The morning was bright 
and beautiful ; the sun shone warmly on glittering bayo- 
nets, as that portion of the army, under Major-General 
Patterson, crossed the Potomac at Williamsport, and 
took wp their line of march toward Martinsburg. 

"Within a radius of five miles from the ford, lay en- 
camped the Second and Third Pennsylvania regiments, 
under General Wynkoop, four companies of the Second 
regular cavalry, Parker's battery of artillery, the Sixth, 
Twenty -first, and Twenty -third Pennsylvania regi- 
ments under Colonel Thomas, the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, 
and Twenty-fourth Pennsylvania regiments under Gen- 
eral Negley, the Eleventh Pennsylvania regiment and 
Wisconsin regiments, and McMullen's Independent Ran- 
gers, under Colonel Abercrombie ; the post of honor was 
assigned to McMullen's Rangers, and the First Wiscon- 
sin and the Eleventh Pennsylvania Regiments. The 
advancing column consisted of the brigades of Generals 
Abercrombie, Thomas, and Negley. 

They crossed the river at a very early hour in the morn- 
ing. McMullen's Rangers dashed in first ; the City troop 
(of Philadelphia), and General Patterson and staff fol- 
lowed, and then came the two regiments of Wisconsin 
and Pennsylvania. The remaining regiments took the mat- 

258 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



259 



ter less impetuously, and so lost their share in the hon- 
ors of the battle. 

General Patterson and staff, with the First Wisconsin 
and the Eleventh Pennsylvania regiments, preceded by 
the city troop and Doubleday's battery, the whole led 
by McMullen's Independent Rangers, reached Porter- 
field's farm (a distance of five miles from the Potomac), 
at seven o'clock in the morning. 

The Confederates were drawn up behind the house in 
line of battle, with their park of four guns directly upon 
the turnpike, bearing upon the Federal ranks. McMul- 
len's men were some rods in advance, and were the first 
to open fire. The first cannon-shot of the enemy passed 
over the heads of the Federal troops, a single ball strik- 
ing the gable of Porterfield's dwelling, and passing out 
at the peak of the roof. The Federal troops advanced, 
continually loading and firing, until within one hundred 
yards of the rebel's advance lines. The action lasted 
for half an hour, when the Confederates retired at a 
rapid pace. The Federals pursued them to Haincsville, 
three miles beyond, where they again made a stand, but 
were driven back with renewed loss. 

The Federal loss was trifling, only three killed and 
ten wounded. 

Most of the people along the route professed to be 
Unionists, and were, in semblance at least, glad to see 
their deliverers, and in Martinsburg greeted them with 
cheers, and the waving of handkerchiefs and Union 
flags. Men, women, and children were at every gate- 
way with smiles and refreshments, and to the inquiry as 
to where the Confederates were, the reply was given, 
that they bad passed througli toward Winchester an 
hour before. 

The day after the battle, parties were sent out from 
the Federal camp to find the dead and bury them. The 
first day they found fourteen, the second day seventeen 



260 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



bodies of soldiers ; also a mound which they opened, 
when a most sickening spectacle presented itself ; there 
lay the dead in heaps, which the rebels in their hasty re- 
treat had left but half buried ; and it is said that the reb- 
els had two wagons filled with bodies, and the blood was 
dripping through the bottom of the vehicles. 

When General Joseph E. Johnston with that portion 
of the Confederate army under his command loft Har- 
per's Ferry, on the 15th of June, having received inti- 
mation that General Patterson was about to cross over 
into Virginia, he proceeded to Winchester, placing Colo- 
nel Stuart with his cavalry in observation on the line of 
the Potomac, who reported the advance of General Pat- 
terson upon Martinsburg on the 2d of July. Colonel 
Jackson had been sent with his brigade to the neighbor- 
hood of Martinsburg, to support Colonel Stuart, and had 
received instructions when Patterson advanced, to fall 
back, in order to draw them further into the Confeder- 
ate coimtry. Pursuant to these orders, Jackson re- 
tired before Patterson's advance, not however without 
severe skirmishing and heavy loss, about sixty killed, 
and many wounded, leaving Patterson in possession of 
jNIartinsburg and the Confederate camp. General John- 
ston, believing it to be the design of Patterson to get in 
his rear and hold him in check, while the grand army 
under McDowell was to bear down upon General Beau- 
i-egard at Manassas, he made his head-quarters near Win- 
chester, where he was in position to meet either McClellan 
from the west, or Patterson from the northeast, or to 
prevent a conjunction of the two forces, and where, in 
case of emergency, he could receive aid from Beaure- 
gard, or go to his assistance if necessary. 

July 4. In pursuance of the President's order, made 
on the 15th of April, for an extra session of Congress, 
to consider and determine means for the interest and 
safety of the country ; the Thirty-Seventh Congress met 



THE KEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 261 

at noon, and the House organized, by the choice of Ga- 
lusha A. Grow, of Pennsylvania, as speaker. 

The President in his message to Congress, after nar- 
rating the progress of the rebellion and its many acts of 
aggression, says, " No compromise in this case could be 
a cure ; " and calls for four hundred thousand men, 
and four hundred millions of dollars, to aid in carrying 
on the war. 

Meanwhile the army of the west, under General 
McClclIan, was gradually working its way into Virginia 
from the north-west. At Buckhannon, on the first of 
July, General Morris attacked and routed a division of 
General Wiso's army, killing twenty-three, and taking 
two hundred prisoners, and seventy-three horses, and 
then proceeded eastward about twelve miles to Middle 
Fork Bridge, where a detachment of forty-five men be- 
longing to the Third Ohio regiment, under Captain 
Lawson, fell in with an ambuscade of seven hundred reb- 
els, and were surrounded. 

After a desperate fight they cut their way through, 
and made good their escape, with the loss of one killed, 
and several wounded ; but on the following morning, 
Colonel McCook with the Fourth and Seventh Ohio 
regiments, and the Tenth Indiana under General Mor- 
ris, with Loorais' battery, drove the Confederates from 
their position, and took possession of the bridge. 

At this early stage of the rebellion, these successes ar- 
gued well for the Union forces, but their joy was of short 
duration ; for soon comes the intelligence from far western 
Missouri, of the defeat of Sigel in the battle of Carthage. 
July 5. Colonel Sigel, with a portion of his regi- 
ment and a part of Colonel Solomon's, and ten pieces of 
artillery, in all 1,100 to 1,200 men, attacked a body of 
6,000 rebels, under General Raines and Governor Jack- 
son, at Brier Fork, about seven miles east of Carthage, 
on the prairie. 

22* 



262 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The State troops were posted on a ridge in the prairie, 
with five pieces of artillery, one twelve pounder in the 
centre, two six pounders on the right and left, cavalry 
on each flank, and infantry in the rear of the artillery. 

Colonel Sigel approached within eight hundred yards, 
with four cannon in the centre body, infantry and one 
six-pounder under Lieutenant- Colonel Hasscnder on the 
left. Colonel Solomon's command with a six-pounder on 
the right, and a body of infantry behind. The centre 
infantry and Colonel Sigel's left, opened fire with shrap- 
nels, and soon the engagement became general. The 
rebels had no grape, and their artillerists being poor, 
their balls flew over the Federalist's heads. After two 
hours' firing, the enemy's artillery were entirely silenced, 
and their ranks broken. About 1,500 rebel cavalry then 
attempted to outflank Sigel, and cut off his baggage 
train, which was three miles back, when a retrograde 
movement was ordered. 

The train was reached in good order, surrounded by 
infantry and artillery, and the retreat was continued, till 
a point was reached where the road passed tlirough a 
high blufl" on each side, with the enemy's cavalry posted 
in large numbers. By feint, as if intending to pass 
around the bluff, Sigel drew the cavalry in a solid body 
into tlie road, at a distance of one hundred and fifty 
yards from his position, when, by a rapid movement of 
his artillery, he poured a heavy cross fire of canister into 
their ranks ; at the same time, the infantry charged at 
double quick, and in ten minutes, the State forces were 
scattered in every direction. 

This opened the road, and Colonel Sigel fell back on 
Carthage. The enemy harassed his flanks up to tlie 
town, where another stand was made. The rebels being 
in possession of the place. Colonel Sigel attempted to 
reach a piece of woods north of the town, and after two 
hours of desperate fighting, in which all the forces on 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 263 

both sides were engaged, he succeeded in doing so, and 
the rebels retired to Carthage, and Colonel Sigel fell 
back on Sarcoxie, whence he proceeded next day to 
Mount Vernon. 

The engagement commenced at half past nine at 
night, and continued, by the Federal troops alternately 
fighting and retreating, until day. Sigel's retreat was 
conducted with much coolness, and in a style worthy of 
veterans ; and only that the overwhelming odds enabled 
the rebels to carry the day, the victory would undoubt- 
edly have been with Sigel. Union loss, fifty-five ; the 
loss of the State troops, two hundred and twenty. 

Almost simultaneously with this movement, a camp 
of Federal troops and Home Guards, numbering about 
six hundred, under Colonel Smith, of tlie Sixteenth Illi- 
nois regiment, near Monroe station, thirty miles west of 
Hannibal, Mo., were attacked by 1,600 rebels under 
Brigadier-General Harris. Although the Federals were 
surprised, they repelled the attack, and drove the rebels 
back, killing four, wounding several, and capturing five 
prisoners, and seven horses. 

Harris retreated to Monroe, where another skirmish 
occurred, and the rebels were again defeated ; but suc- 
ceeded in burning the railroad station-house, six coaches, 
eighteen freight cars, cutting the telegraph wires, and 
tearing up the track each side of the town. 

July 10. Battle of Rich Mountain. 

About twenty-five miles from Buckhannon, near the 
head waters of the Kanawha River, on the western slope 
of the AUeghanies, is a gap in the Laurel Hill range, 
where the Staunton and Weston turnpike cross it, called 
Rich Mountahi, which is about as far from .Laurel Hill 
proper (that is, where the Beverly and Fairmount pike 
crosses it, and where the rebels were intrenched), as 
Beverly is, ai)out sixteen miles. 

Laurel Hill is not a mere knob, but a long ridge or 



264 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED , STATES. 

rib of the Alleghanies, extending for at least a hundred 
miles in length. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
pierces it by means of the celebrated Kingwood tunnel, 
the longest in the world. It stretches down in a direc- 
tion a little west of south, to the head waters of the Kan- 
awha, there called Greenbrier River. The main turn- 
pike leading to Staunton (over which Wise's army 
passed frgm Eastern Virginia), runs along Laurel Hill's 
base. 

On the slopes of Laurel Hill, General Robert S. Gar- 
nett, who had been appointed to the command of the 
Confederate forces in northwestern Virginia, was in- 
trenched with a force of three thousand infantry, six 
pieces of artillery, and three companies of cavalry, and 
was also occupying a strong position at Rich Mountain, 
under Colonel Pegram. 

On the morning of the 10th, General Garnett received 
a note from Colonel Pegram at Rich Mountain, stating 
tliat his pickets had that morning taken a prisoner, who 
stated that there were in front of Rich Mountain, nine 
regiments of seven thousand men, and a number of 
pieces of artillery ; that General McClellan had arrived 
in camp the evening before, and had given orders for an 
attack the next day ; that General Rosecrans had 
started a night before with a division of the army, three 
thousand strong, by a convenient route, to take him in 
the rear, while McClellan was to attack in front ; and 
Colonel Pegram went on to say, that he had moved a 
piece of artillery and three hundred men, to the point 
by which General Rosecrans was expected, and that he 
had requested Colonel Scott, with his regiment, to occupy 
a position on the path by which the Federals must come. 
As soon as General Garnett received this note, he sent a 
written order to Colonel Scott, to move to the point indi- 
cated by Colonel Pegram, and to defend it at all hazards. 

At Bealington, in front of Laurel Hill, General Morris 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 265 

was encamped with his command. About two o'clock 
on the afternoon of the 10th, the attack commenced. 

By four o'clock, the skirmishing in front by the Four- 
teenth Ohio and Ninth Indiana regiments became very 
warm. The enemy advanced under cover of the woods. 
The Federal skirmishers rushed forward, pouring in a 
sharp volley, killing several. The rebel cavalry then ad- 
vanced to take our skirmishers by flank, but they rap- 
idly retreated ; and the artillery dropped a couple of 
shells, one exploding among their cavalry, causing them 
to instantly fall back, when the boys again rushed for- 
ward, pouring in another volley. The rebels now scat- 
tered in the woods, their officers attempting to rally 
them, but they could not be brought up in a body again. 
In the mean time, the boys picked off their officers. 
Several more shells were thrown in, and our men made 
a final rush, driving them clear through their own rifle- 
pits, bringing back several of their blankets, canteens, 
and guns. 

At dusk, the skirmishers retired from the woods in cap- 
ital order. 

July 11. About three o'clock in the morning. Gen- 
eral Rosecrans with portions of the Eighth, Tenth, and 
Thirteenth Indiana, and Nineteenth Ohio regiments, left 
camp at Roaring River, and after a very difficult march 
by a circuitous route of six or seven miles, arrived at 
Rich Mountain, where the Confederates, numbering 
about two thousand men under Colonel Pegram, were 
strongly intrenched. 

The advance on Rich Mountain by Rosecrans, and the 
brave men of his command, was attended with the ut- 
most difficulty. 

Over the mountain, by a pathless route through the 
woods, the whole division moving in perfect silence 
through the brush and laurel, over rocks and through 
ditches, while the rain poured down upon them in tor- 

23 



266 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

rents, as if the windows of heaven were opened. They 
arrived at Rich Mountain about two o'clock in the after- 
noon, and succeeded in reaching the turnpike some two 
miles in the rear of the enemy, when a desperate fight 
immediately ensued. The attack on Colonel Pegram 
was met with the most gallant resistance. The earth of 
the mountain seemed to tremble under the thunders of 
the cannon. The tops of immense trees were cut off by 
the fire of the Confederates, which was aimed too high, 
and the crash of the falling timber, mingled with the 
roar of the cannon, as the artillery again and again 
belched forth its missives of destruction, seemed as if the 
forest was riven by living streams of lightning. While 
the cannonading progressed, an incessant fire of mus- 
ketry was kept up in tlie woods by the rebel sharp- 
shooters, who were vainly trying to keep the advancing 
lines at bay. 

The engagement lasted about two hours, when Colo- 
nel Pegram finding he could not maintain his position, 
endeavored to escape with his command, but did not suc- 
ceed in doing so, and was captured with a large number 
of prisoners. Colonel Pegram surrendering his sword to 
his captors. The mass of the enemy escaped tlirough 
the woods precipitately in perfect disorder, leaving be 
hind six cannon, a large number of horses, wagons, tents, 
and camp equipage. When General Garnett heard of 
the result of the engagement at Rich Mountain, he deter- 
mined to evacuate Laurel Hill as soon as night set in, and 
retire to Huttonsville, hoping to pass Beverly before 
General McClellan * should arrive there, and thus escape 

* Major-General George B. McClellan, -whose brilliant exploits in 
Western Virginia sent a thrill through the loyal States, was born in 
Philadelphia, December 3, 1826. He graduated at West Point in 
the class of 1846. 

Until the Mexican war he had no opportunity of distinguishing 
himself, and then, for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battles 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 267 

the trap set for them, by a passage through Cheat Moun- 
tain Gap. 

The evacuation was discovered on the morning of the 
12th, and a pursuit instantly ordered. By ten o'clock, 
the Ninth Indiana regiment entered the rebel camp on 
Laurel Hill, and found a large number of tents, a lot of 

of Contreras and Cherubusco, he was brevetted First Lieutenant. 
For his gallant conduct at the battle of Molino del Key, on Septem- 
ber 8, 1847, he was offered a brevet captaincy, which he declined, 
but subsequently was advanced for like gallantry displayed in the 
battle of Chepultepec, and received the command of a company of 
sappers, miners, and pontoniers in May, 1848. 

At the close of the Mexican war he returned to West Point, where 
he remained on duty with the sappers and miners until 1851. During 
this time he introduced the bayonet exercise into the army, and trans- 
lated and adapted a manual which has since become a text-book for 
the service. During the summer and fall of 1851 he superintended 
the construction of Fort Delaware, and in the succeeding spring was 
assigned to duty in the expedition for the exploration of the Red 
River. Thence he was ordered to Texas, as senior engineer on the 
staff of General Persifer F. S:mth, and was engaged for some months 
in surveyiug the rivers and harbors of that State. In 1853 he was 
ordered to the Pacific coast, in command of the western division of 
the survey of the North Pacific Railroad route. 

He returned to the East in 1854, on duty connected with the 
Pacific survey, and was engaged also in secret service to the West 
Indies. The next year he received a commission in the First Regi- 
ment cavalry, and was appointed a member of the commission which 
went to the war in the Crimea and in Northern Russia. Major 
McClellan's report on the " Organization of European Armies and 
the Operations of the War" — a quarto volume, embodying the 
result of his observations in the Crimea — greatly enhanced his repu- 
talion as a scientific soldier. 

In January, 1857, weary of inaction, he resigned his position in 
the army to become vice-president and engineer of the Illinois Cen- 
tral Railroad, which post he held for three years, when he was offered, 
and accepted the presidency of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, of 
which he was also general superintendent. When our domestic 
troubles assumed formidable dimensions, Major McClellan's services 
were at once called into requisition. He was offered and accepted 
the command of the Ohio forces. 



268 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

flour, camp equipage, and clothing, and several sick and 
wounded, with a note, asking them to give them proper 
attention. The whole road for twenty miles was strewn 
with baggage thrown from wagons, to hasten their re- 
treat. The rebel army went within three miles of Bev- 
erly, and there met the rebels flying from Rich Moun- 
tain, and finding escape to Huttonsville impossible, they 
all united and returned toward Laurel Hill, taking the 
road in the direction of St. George. 

General Morris's division pursued them for a mile or 
two beyond Leedsville that night, and halted from eleven 
until three o'clock in the morning, when the advance 
resumed pursuit, and continued it all day, in spite of 
the incessant rain. The rebel army left the turnpike, 
struck Cheat River, and pursued the mountain road 
down the valley. Our advance, composed of the Four- 
teenth Oliio, and Seventh and Ninth Indiana regimentsj 
pushed on, being guided through the mountain gullies 
by the tents, camp furniture, provisions, and knapsacks 
thrown from the rebel wagons. 

After a terrible forced march through the rain and 
mud over Laurel Hill, our advance came upon the en- 
emy at Carrack's Ford, eight miles south of St. George, 
where they again made a stand, and a sliarp conflict en- 
sued. The rebels drew up in line of battle, and witli a 
simultaneous cheer for " Jefl". Davis " by the whole com- 
mand, opened upon the Federals, pouring a raking vol- 
ley on the right of their advance column, the Ohio Four- 
teenth, which returned a hot fire, lasting twenty min- 
utes. Dumont's Indiana Seventh made a charge upon 
their battery, wlien tliey broke and run, crossing the 
ford toward St. George, leaving many of tlieir wagons 
which had become stalled in the river, which was nat- 
urally deep, and, at this time, rendered deeper than 
usual by the heavy rains. 

At this moment General Garnett, in attempting to 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 269 

rally his retreating forces, was shot dead, by almost the 
last fire of the Federals. He fell, and by his side a sleek, 
smooth-fdced young Georgian, in the agonies of death, lay 
weltering in his blood. The Seventh Indiana . pursued 
the flying Confederates about two miles, when they gave 
up the chase, and the rebels reached Monterey, and 
formed a junction with General Jackson. 

The Confederate loss, in the three battles. Laurel Hill, 
Rich Mountain, and Carrack's Ford, was about two hun- 
dred killed, a large number wounded, and five hundred 
taken prisoners ; beside which, it was a serious disaster 
to the South, as it involved the surrender of an impor- 
tant portion of Northwestern Virginia. 

The Federal loss in killed and wounded was about 
fifty. 

A feeling of deep sympathy was manifested for the 
unfortunate General Garnett. As he fell. Major Gor- 
don went over to him, and finding that life was extinct 
closed his eyes, straightened his limbs, and placed a guard 
over the body, which was subsequently laid out and 
prepared for burial. Major Love assisted in the sad 
rites, seeming to forget that they met as foes in mortal 
combat, and now remembering only the years gone by, 
when they were room-mates at W^st Point. Major Love 
had ever cherished feelings of the warmest friendship 
for Major Garnett until he left the army of the United 
States to become general of the Confederate forces. 

The body, under escort, together with his watch, 
sword, hand glass, and other personal property, was 
sent to his family. 

The battle-ground presented a scene which is beyond 
our powers of description. The terrible realities of war, 
with all its attendant horrors — mangled limbs and 
bleeding forms. There lay, side by side, the impulsive, 
beardless youth, and stern manhood, gasping for a firmer 
hold on life. Some with torn and shattered limbs, some 

23* 



270 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



shot through the head, and brains protruding from the 
wound ; others with eyes blown out ; some with jaws shot 
away, trying to speak, but without the power to articulate. 
Every imaginable form of wounds and untold suffering, 
and many were the kind offices performed by the Union 
soldiers to mitigate the intensity of their sufferings, and 
many a poor fellow's thirst was allayed by a sip from the 
canteen of some noble Federal soldiers, who remembered 
that they were brothers, of one blood, and citizens of 
one country. 

July 11. At night a detachment of three companies 
of Colonel Woodruff's Second Kentucky regiment at- 
tacked six hundred rebels between Mad River and Bar- 
boursville, on the Kanawha River, Western Virginia, 
completely routing them. Ten or twelve rebels were 
killed, and a number wounded. The Kentuckians had 
one killed. 

July 16. A train on the North Missouri railroad, con> 
veying a detachment of Colonel Smith's Zouaves, eight 
luindred in number, passed up the road from St. Louis 
as far as Millville, thirty miles above St. Charles, where 
the tracks were torn up, and they could proceed no 
further, and a sharp skirmish ensued. The troops were 
fired into from the woods, where the rebels, after tearing 
up the track, had secreted themselves, laying in wait for 
the train. The engagement resulted in the death of 
seven of the rebels, and several taken prisoners. One 
man, caught with a gun in his hand, was immediately 
hung, and another, who attempted to escape, was rid- 
dled with balls. The Federals lost three killed and 
seven wounded. Thirty horses were captured. 

A messenger from Colonel Boernstein, while on his 
way from Jefferson City, Missouri, to Fulton, with de- 
spatches to Colonel McNeil, was arrested by secessionists, 
who subjected him to a rigid examination, and threat- 
ened his life, biit, finding no papers about him, and that 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 271 

he did not knoio any thing, finally released him. He 
had swallowed his despatches. 

July 17. Occupation of Fairfax Court House. On 
the afternoon of Tuesday, the 16th of July, the Third 
Division of the grand corps d'arraee, under Colonel 
Heintzelman, comprising the brigades of Colonels Frank- 
lin, "Wilcox, and Howard, took up the line of march 
from Alexandria, with the intention of penetrating the 
heart of Virginia by way of Fairfax. Fairfax is situ- 
ated on the Little River turnpike, leading from Alex- 
andria, and is about fom'teen miles from that city. It is 
a seedy old place, of about a thousand inhabitants, who 
lived in the glorious past of Virginia, with a court house, 
two or three churches, and some half dozen stores. 

The troops proceeded without any difficulty whatever, 
up the old Fairfax and Polrick roads, ten miles from 
Alexandria, when they bivouacked at Polrick Creek over 
night. The next morning the troops were stirring at 
dawn, the line re-formed, and the troops proceeded on 
the old Fairfax road in the following order : the First 
Brigade, under Colonel Franklin, in advance; Second 
Brigade, under Colonel Wilcox, as the centre ; and the 
Third Brigade, under Colonel Howard, of Maine, com- 
manding. 

The march of the troops was broken, at intervals, by 
a succession of barricades, consisting of large trees, 
felled and thrown across the road, the first of which was 
encountered about three miles from Fairfax Court House, 
but delayed the head of the division only a few minutes. 
The pioneers set to work and soon cleared the road with 
their axes. This barricade was erected at the foot of 
Long Hill, the top of which afforded an excellent covert 
for sharpshooters. 

The second barricade was of a similar character, and 
was cleared in a similar manner, and occasioned only a 
few minutes' delay. The third barricade was more for- 



272 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

midable. It was at the entrance of a deep cut in the 
road, commencmg about half way up a steep hill, 
crowned on one side with a thick wood, and the other by 
an open field. To pass this, a road was made through 
the field, enabling the army to march around it. At this 
pomt were stationed two hundred rebel cavalry, who 
fled upon the first appearance of our skirmishers, firing 
at them one rifle shot, which did no harm. Here it was 
ascertained that half a mile aliead the rebels had a forti- 
fication erected, and a battery planted, which was de- 
fended by a force of two thousand men, and that the 
rebel force in and around Fairfax Court House, guard- 
ing the different approaches, amounted to 10,000 or 
15,000 men. 

The fortification was encountered about half a mile 
from tlie court house. It consisted of a simple intrench- 
ment, extending four hundred yards each side of the 
road, pierced for eight guns, but no guns mounted. 
The embrasures were formed of sand bags, and so placed 
as to command the road. The fortification was at the 
top of a steep hill, at the foot of which was a small, 
muddy creek. The trees upon the hill-side, for an eighth 
of a mile, were cut down. This fortification had been 
occupied for about three weeks by the Second and Third 
South Carolina regiments, under General Bonham. 

In approaching this point our skirmishers had a brush 
with those of the rebels, in which a corporal of the 
Rhode Island regiment received a flesh wound in the 
thigh, and a rebel officer was captured by Captain Dyer. 
The advance of Burnside's brigade reached the fortifica- 
tion in time to make one prisoner, a South Carolina 
officer, who surrendered to Major Mission, paymaster of 
the Second Rhode Island regiment. The inside of the 
fortification presented abundant evidences of the haste 
with which it had been abandoned. Sacks of flour, 
meat, clothing, arms, equipments, and camp utensils 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 273 



were everywhere scattered over the ground, and the 
camp fires, probably prepared for the noon meal, were 
still brightly burning. 

The main body had left with haste only about two 
hours before the arrival of the head of our column, 
leaving the grain bags from which the rebels' horses 
were fed, and the Federal horses ate their oats from the 
same for their morning's breakfast. 

As the head of the division was approaching the in- 
trenchment, a sharp firing was heard on the left, which 
afterwards proved to be a skirmish between the advance 
of Colonel Niles's division and some Alabamians who 
were in position there, about two miles from the court 
house. From the inside of this fortification the village 
of Fairfax Court House was plainly seen, whither the 
command proceeded. 

At the outskirts of the village a small American flag, 
used as a guide-mark by the Fourteenth New York reg- 
iment, had been planted. It was saluted with cheers by 
the passing regiments. The rebel flag was still flying 
at the court house when the advance of the division, 
with a band of the First Rhode Island regiment, playing 
the national airs, entered the village. It was taken 
down by some men of the Second Rhode Island, and 
handed to Governor Sprague. It was transmitted by 
him to General McDowell. Soon afterward the regi- 
mental flag of the Second New Hampshire regiment was 
placed over the court house. 

The advance column entered the village exactly at 
noon. At an early hour in the morning the rebel troops 
were drawn up on the west side of Fairfax, and the peo- 
ple there expected that a battle was certain, but about 
nine o'clock they made a precipitate retreat, leaving five 
quarters of fresh beef, shovels, spades, tools, and camp 
furniture behind them. 

The column which occupied Fairfax was composed of 



274 



THE KEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



two brigades, under Colonels Porter and Burnside, and 
contained two batteries of flying artillery, two Rhode 
Island regiments, the New Hampshire Second, and the 
New York Eighth and Seventy-first, eight companies of 
regulars, five companies of cavalry, and perhaps one or 
two other regiments. 

In the mean time, the First Division, under General 
Tyler, in camp at Falls Church, situated on the Lees- 
burg turnpike, about seven miles from Fairfax Court 
House, had received orders to march, by the road from 
Falls Church and Vienna, with three days' rations and no 
baggage. Two hundred men were detailed as sappers 
and miners to open the way through the felled trees which 
the rebels had placed on all the approaches to Fairfax. 

The Second Division, under Colonel Hunter, and the 
Fifth Division, under Colonel Miles, also took up the 
line of march, by two other routes. Little River turnpike 
and old Braddock road, it being so arranged that all 
four divisions should move at the same liour, and on as 
many different roads, while General Patterson had been 
ordered to move steadily forward, to be in a position to 
reinforce them in case of emergency. 

The division under General Tyler commenced nnoving 
at three o'clock on the afternoon of the 16th, the Con- 
necticut boys taking the lead, their bands playing Hail 
Columbia. 

The route was directly up the turnpike, toward Lees- 
burg, about five miles ; then leaving the turnpike and 
diverging toward Vienna. The right wing was com- 
manded by Colonel Keyes, the left by Colonel Richardson 
of Michigan, the whole under the command of General 
Tyler. 

The Second Maine regiment was drawn up in front of 
its encampment, and the " God of battles " mvoked in 
a fervent prayer by the chaplain. Colonel Jameson then 
made a brief address, in which he told them he had 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 275 



confidence in them that they would maintain the honor 
of the State that had sent them forth. They responded 
by three cheers, and fell into the column. 

The head of the column reached Vienna at sunset, a 
strao-oling place of a dozen houses, a railroad station, and 
one store, and bivouacked for the night, the infantry 
turning into fields and meadows, the cannon taking 
positions on the hills. There were large piles of wood 
at liand, and the men helped themselves with a will, and 
soon had large fires burning in every direction. The 
men ate their suppers, rolled themselves in their blan- 
kets, and went to sleep. At eleven o'clock there was 
scarcely a sound to be heard, except from the horses at 
their tethers. The prostrate host lay motionless and 
silent, as if the destroying angel had passed over the 
place and set the seal of death on all. 

With the first gray of the morning there was a bugle 
blast and a general roll of drums, followed by a sudden 
uprising of the multitude, reminding one of the resur- 
rection morning, wlien, at a blast from the archangel's 
trumpet, the dead of earth shall rise to meet their 
Creator. 

Prom Vienna to Fairfax is four miles. The road, im- 
mediately after emerging from Vienna, enters a heavy 
timber, about a mile from the village. About fifty large 
trees were discovered in the road. Captain Alexander, 
of the engineer corps, immediately put the pioneers to 
work with their axes. Tlie down-east boys, who served 
their apprenticeship in the forests of Aroostook and 
Moosehead, showed themselves masters of their profes- 
sion, and in less than twenty minutes the whole barricade 
was cleared away. Having reached the edge of the 
timber, two companies of each of the Connecticut regi- 
ments were deployed as skirmishers, on the right and 
left, under Colonel Spiedel. 

The division marched a short distance further on, 



276 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

when a reconnoissance by Colonel Keyes, commanding 
the First Brigade, resulted in discovering two, evidently 
mounted earthworks, protected by bodies of infantry 
and cavalry, to the left of the road. 

Colonel Keyes immediately pushed the advance bri- 
gade along the road, with the view of getting in the 
rear of the enemy, while General Tyler ordered General 
Schenck's brigade to form in battle array in the fields to 
the left of the road. The Third and Fourth Brigades, 
under Colonel Sherman and Colonel Richardson, formed 
in the road, but the rebels abandoned their position. 
With a spy-glass the roads leading to Fairfax Court 
House co\ild be seen covered with the retreating Confed- 
erates. The head of the First Brigade came within a few 
hundred yards of a body of the rebels. Colonel Keyes 
ordered a section of Captain Varian's Battery to throw 
a few shells among them. 

" First and second pieces into position," shouted the 
captain of Varian's Battery. The horses leaped ahead 
as if inspirited by the command, and in a moment two 
pieces were in position, by a school-house, on a little 
knoll overlooking the distance to Fairfax, with a thick 
wood all along the right. " Load with shell," said the 
captain, and the cartridges went home in an instant. 
After a moment's sighting, a shell went whizzing through 
the air, and burst in a hollow on the left. The enemy 
ran as soon as the first shot was fired, casting away 
blankets, haversacks, canteens, and other equipments 
which impeded their progress. 

A short distance further on "vfas a house, the occupants 
of which had taken refuge in a potato cellar, a little 
way from the house, and had heard the shells as they 
whizzed past, one exploding near them. The women, 
with joyful countenances, brought out bread and pans 
of milk, which were passed around to the soldiers, 
" without money and without price," refusing to take 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. ' 277 

pay. Again the column moved on, and, having reached 
Hunt's Hill, two and a half miles west of Vienna, and 
the enemy evidently still retreating, General Schenck's 
brigade again fell into line, and the column continued 
to march in the order of the morning. 

A short distance from the rebel camp two more abatis 
were discovered in the road, and removed by the pioneers 
in a few minutes. The column was about pushing on, 
when the scouts reported a battery of several pieces less 
than half a mile ahead. Colonel Keyes immediately 
ordered up Ayer's rifled cannon, and two pieces of the 
Parrott gun were put in position, to feel of the work. 
The shot went screaming through the embrasure. No 
response. Another. All silent. " Forward," said Colonel 
Spiedel, in command of the skirmishers ; and they went 
over the open space at double quick ; but the rebels had 
precipitately abandoned the battery, and were retreating 
in hot haste with their pieces. A large quantity of 
shovels, picks, bags of oats, baskets, etc., were found in 
the work, and the camp-fire was still burning. 

Half a mile further on was German town, a place of 
six old tumble-down houses, almost deserted. On one 
a Confederate flag was flying. One of the Connecticut 
boys mounted the roof, tore it down, planted the stars 
and stripes in its place, when all hands gave three 
cheers. In^the house were two white men, sick with the 
measles, attended by a negro, who said that the first 
shot went right over the house, and the rebels, with four 
pieces and fifteen hundred men, went "jus as fast as 
dey could go, right up d(? road, massa." 

Immediately upon the arrival of the central division, 
General McDowell sent word to the divisions under 
Cplonels Miles and Heintzelman, on the left wing, to 
halt, and himself and staff, escorted by a squadron of 
United States Dragoons, proceeded to Germantown, 
where the division under General Tyler halted. They 

24 



278 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

were eager to go on, but were really exhausted by a long, 
hot march, over a dusty road, under a broiling sun, and 
prudence dictated they should be allowed to rest. 

The following despatch was received at the head- 
quarters of the army, dated Fairfax Court House, July 
17,1861: 

To Colonel E. D. Townsend, Head-quarters of the Army. 
We have occupied Fairfax Court House, and driven 
tlie enemy toward Centreville and Manassas. We have 
an officer and three men slightly wounded. 

The enemy's flight was so precipitate that he left in 
our hands a quantity of flour, fresh beef, intrenching 
tools, hospital furniture, and baggage. I endeavored to 
pursue beyond Centreville, but the men were too much 
exhausted. 

Most respectfully yours, 

Ievin McDowell, Brigadier- General. 

On the morning of the eighteenth. General Tyler's 
division again took up the line of march, and, after pro- 
ceeding half a mile, came to the Centreville road, where 
they were joined by Hunter, and the two columns, num- 
bering 40,000 men, moved on toward Centreville. To 
stand on an eminence, looking right and left over the 
straight, undulating road, viewing the advancing lines, 
was a sight beautiful and sad, — the compact column, 
the forest of bayonets glittering in the sun, the long 
lines of ponderous cannon, now down in the valley, now 
up the hill, now partially hid by a clump of trees, and 
again emerging into the open plain, — the eye rested for 
miles and miles upon a swaying, surging mass of human 
beings, beautiful because of their loyalty, precision, and 
regularity, sad because of the mission on which they 
went, to meet in deadly combat persons of one blood and 
one kindred, the fratricidal foe. 

The entry of the Federal troops into Fairfax is said 



THE BEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 279 



to have been inspiring beyond description. The main 
street was filled with soldiery, marching with fixed bay- 
onets and loaded guns, cheering for the Union, and 
bands playing the " Star-Spangled Banner." As soon as 
the six thousand infantry had passed, the cavalry, which 
were in the rear, the artillery being in front, dashed 
through the town on a gallop, in chase of the retreating 
traitors, but after pursuing them a couple of miles, 
returned. 

It was a bloodless victory, and would have been suf- 
ficient cause for great rejoicing, had it not been like the 
rumbling of the earthquake, or the deep mutterings of 
the volcano, a precursor of something more terrible to 
come. It was only a ray of sunlight from that orb 
which was so soon to set in blood at Bull Run. A lurid 
flash from that dark cloud that overshadowed them at 
Manassas. 

Simultaneous with the movement of the grand army 
under McDowell, General Patterson's division left Bun- 
ker Hill and moved forward to Charlestown, where he 
received information that General Johnston's forces had 
retreated beyond Winchester. Patterson, with his entire 
force, 25,000 men, occupied Charlestown, with the ex- 
ception of the Fourth Connecticut regiment. 

The First Pennsylvania also arrived on the same day 
from Martinsburg, guarding a provision train of two 
hundred wagons, accompanied by Captain Girard's com- 
pany of the Seventh Pennsylvania, leaving only a small 
force stationed at Martinsburg. 
July 18. Battle of Bull Run. 

Tlie first engagement of any moment in Eastern Vir- 
ginia, took place at Bull Run, about five miles south of 
Centreville, which involved the first important shock of 
arms between two peoples who, from long seasons of 
peace and prosperity, had brought to the struggle more 
than ordinary resources and splendors of war, and fur- 



280 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



nishes an intelligent introduction to the bitter earnest- 
ness, military skill, and untiring zeal of the Confeder- 
ates, in the complicated plan of the great battle, that, 
through the sultry heat of a whole day, wrestled over 
the plains of Manassas. 

Bull Run constitutes the northern boundary of Staf- 
ford county, which it divides from Fairfax, and on its 
banks, about three miles to the northwest of the junction 
of the Manassas Gap with the Orange and Alexandria 
Railroad, was fought the ever-to-be-remembered battle of 
the 18th of July. It is a small stream, running in this 
locality nearly from west to east to its confluence with 
the Occoquan River, about twelve miles from the Poto- 
mac, and draining a considerable slope of country, from 
its source in Bull Run Mountain, to within a short dis- 
tance of the Potomac at Occoquan. Roads traverse and 
intersect the surrounding country in almost every direc- 
tion. The banks of the stream are rocky and steep, but 
abound in long-used fords. 

At Mitchell's Ford, the stream is about equidistant 
from Centreville and Manassas, some five miles apart. 

General Beauregard, who was in command of the Con- 
federate forces, being fully informed of the forward 
movement of the Federal troops toward Manassas, had 
withdrawn his advanced brigades within the lines of Bull 
Run, and, on the morning of the seventeenth of July, 
the Confederate troops rested on Bull Run, from Union 
Mills Ford to the Stone Bridge, a distance of about 
eight miles. , 

When General Bonham's brigade, supported by Kem- 
per's North Carolina battery, retreated before McDowell 
at Fairfax, he withdrew across Mitchell's Ford to a point 
previously designated, and which commanded the direct 
approaches to the ford, while Blackburn's Ford was cov- 
ered by General Longstreet's division. The entire 
southern bank of the stream, for the whole front of 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 281 



Longstreet's division, was covered at the water's edge 
by an extended line of skirmishers. 

The head of General Tylers column passed through 
Centreville without firing a gun. Instead of the smoke 
of battle for which they were earnestly looking, they sud- 
denly saw the- national flag hoisted over the town, and a 
solitary man came running down the line, announcing 
that the enemy had fled ; whereupon tlie bands struck 
up the " Star-Spangled Banner," amid the cheering of 
the Federal troops. 

About two miles beyond Centreville the troops halted, 
and the division rested on each side of the road in the 
woods. About eleven o'clock General Tyler and staff, 
proceeded to make a reconnoisance in force with Colonel 
Eichardson's brigade, consisting of the Massachusetts 
First, Michigan Second and Third, New York Twelfth, 
Ayer's Battery (formerly Sherman's), and Benjamin's 
Battery of two twenty-pound Parrott guns, and Bracket's 
Cavalry. Advancing up the road toward Bull Run 
about a mile and a half, the column, after passing 
through a long stretch of timber, came to an opcnhig 
upon a ridge of land looking down a gentle slope, all 
clear to a white house, half a mile distant, — beyond 
were woods ; by this house was a masked battery of 
four gims, two on each side of the road. General Ty- 
ler immediately ordered Captain Ayer to advance and 
open on them. Accordingly, four guns were wheeled 
into position on the ridge, and a fire was opened on the 
battery, which replied vigorously with all four guns, 
w^hich were well served. 

To the south, about two miles distant, a Confederate flag 
was flying on a barn. It was Beauregard's head-quarters. 
As soon as the cannonading commenced, could be seen off 
toward Manassas, clouds of dust, and troops in motion ; 
heavy columns of dust along the roads in the forest, 
caused by the advance of reinforcements ; couriers riding 
s-t* 



282 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



on fleet horses, and every thing in commotion, preparing 
for the contest. 

The cannonading thus commenced the action at pre- 
cisely half past twelve, p. m. ; and about half past one, 
the rebels withdrew down the road, falling back silently 
across the ford, beyond their intrenchments, and took 
position on a hill in the woods. The Federal batteries 
stopped firing, but were kept in position ; and the col- 
umn deployed along the undulating ground, sheltered 
by the slight ridges, to a second position, and took pos- 
session of the place where the rebel batteries had stood. 
Two of Ayer's howitzers were also sent forward, and 
Bracket's Cavalry. 

The Second Michigan regiment was ordered to deploy 
as skirmishers on the left of the road, and advance into 
the woods. They gallantly moved on toward Black- 
burn's Ford, and having entered the timber, encoun- 
tered a heavy force of Longstreet's brigade. 

They had hardly been out of sight five minutes, when 
a most lively exchange of musket-shots took place. Sud- 
denly came tremendous volleys from the enemy in one 
continuous roll, mingled with screams, yells, and 
cheers, their batteries joining in. Then followed vol- 
leys by platoons. " They are at it," said General 
Tyler. " Indeed they are,^^ was the reply ; and the 
reserve was ordered to plunge into the woods to support 
the advance. 

Companies F, G, and H of the Massachusetts First, led 
by Colonel Cowdin and Lieutenant-Colonel Wells, were 
the first to follow the skirmishers into the woods. 

Our two howitzers in the woods opened, and then the 
four remaining pieces of Ayer's, and- Benjamin's two 
mortars back on the hill, joined in. At first, the firing 
was at random, and ceased for a moment, but they soon 
obtained range of the enemy's position, and from a quar- 
ter past two till three o'clock, there was an incessant rain 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 283 



of shot, shell, minie and musket, grape and canister, in 
the woods. 

Captain Bracket of the cavalry, who was in the Mexi- 
can war under the hot fire of Cherubusco, says, that in 
all his experience he never saw such a tempest of balls. 
In a few minutes the wounded men began to be brought 
out to the ambulances in the fields, and the New York 
Twelfth was ordered in to support those already engaged. 
Colonel Cowdin's horse was shot in the thigh ; the colo- 
nel dismounted, pulling off his coat and throwing it 
down, he waved his sword in the air^ and, shouting to his 
men to follow him, dashed into the thickest of the fight. 
He was at the head, and Lieutenant Smith was within 
four feet of him, when the lieutenant received three 
shots in the head, and dropped dead. Still the colonel 
marched on, and just as they neared the battery, the 
bugle sounded the retreat. The command fell back, 
fighting bravely, and retired behind the batteries under 
a tremendous fire. Every horse but one of Ayer's Bat- 
tery was either killed or disabled, and Colonel Wells 
withdrew his men ; the battery hobbling off as best it 
could with aid from soldiers. 

Again they rallied and returned to the contest ; but 
only to meet Longstreet with increased numbers, having 
been reinforced from Early's brigade, with two regiments 
of infantry and two pieces of artillery. By General 
Long-street's direction his battery was removed, in front 
and a little out of the range of our guns, so that the 
shot and shell flew over the heads of his gunners. 

From their new position, they renewed and urged the 
conflict with such vigor and effect, that the Union forces 
were obliged to give way, and finally fell back to Centre- 
ville. 

When too late to do any good, three or four regiments 
were ordered down to their support, and arrived just as 
our troops had retired behind our batteries. Not more 



284 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

than a thousand of our men were at any one time en- 
gaged. The affair was not intended for an attack, but 
merely a reconnoisance to discover the position and 
strength of the enemy, but when fairly into the action, our 
men fought like tigers ; some with pants rolled up to 
the knees, and sleeves to the shoulders, never flinching 
or falling back until ordered, and then unwillingly. 
Twice they were repulsed, and rallied with renewed 
vigor. 

General Tyler commanded in person, and acted gal- 
lantly ; but finding his force insufficient to storm the 
battery, or to hold his position under the heavy fire of th^ 
Confederates, at half past four ordered the troops to re- 
tire, which they did ; while the battery on the hill 
covered their retreat by a tremendous cannonade from 
all their guns — eight in number. The enemy replied 
on the battery, and on the retiring column. 

The day was frightfully hot ; for miles no water had 
been found along the route, and the troops went into 
action thirsty, and came out half dead, and now returned 
to their supperless camp, the provision train not having 
yet arrived. 

The Union loss was nineteen killed, thirty-eight 
wounded, and twenty-six missing; Massachusetts First 
and New York Twelfth being the principal sufferers. 
Lieutenant Saunders, of Company H, Massachusetts First, 
deserves a great deal of praise for his exertions in bring- 
ing his wounded men out of the fight, and carrying them 
on his back to the rear, where the ambulances were. 
One of his men died on his back as he was carrying him 
out. Captain Carruth also signalized himself in that 
day's fight, as one of the bravest of the brave. The Con- 
federate loss (Beauregard's report), was fifteen killed, 
and fifty-three wounded. 

A disposition to burn and destroy was manifested at 
Germantown and Centreville, by some of the New York 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



285 



boys, who set on fire several houses belonging to seces- 
sionists, whereupon General McDowell issued a stringent 
order, which was read to all the troops, prohibiting theft 
of every description, and enjoining respect for persons 
and property, and stating that the least penalty for viola- 
tion would be incarceration in the Alexandria jail, and 
for crimes of magnitude the severest penalties known to 
military laws, and stated also that the Union array moved 
to restore, not to destroy, to which the troops acceded by 
clapping their hands and huzzaing for their commander. 

Many are the interesting incidents of this day's battle, 
which have come under our notice, but we have not 
space to enumerate, yet cannot forbear giving one in- 
stance which goes to show that a rough exterior often 
hides a heart of the finest feelings and most generous 
impulses. 

As the Massachusetts First proceeded to enter the 
woods, to support the skirmishers, they were joined by 
two Fire Zouaves, who had left their regiment far behind, 
at Fairfax Court House, and declared they had missed it 
and were now looking for it with all their might, though 
in reality it might be they had scented the battle afar 
off, and could not control the temptation to step on and 
share the danger. At any rate, they pushed themselves 
into a fighting position at the first opportunity that 
offered ; for nearly an hour they fought in the woods 
witli daring intrepidity, wholly on their own account, 
and conscious of no other authority beside their own. 
Their manner of treating the rebel soldiers was eccentric. 
They waited until one showed himself tolerably near, 
and then ran forward, chased him down and killed him, 
without regard to the numbers with which he was sur- 
rounded. One of them actually penetrated a small 
battery, sheltered by a side ravine, bayoneted one of the 
gunners, and escaped unharmed. In this way they 
occupied themselves for nearly an hour, toward the end 



286 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

of which they got separated, and consequently became 
uneasy on each other's account. They both came out 
"without a wound. One of them was the last man of our 
side to leave the ground, and as lie withdrew and walked 
up the hill quite unprotected, he kept pausing at inter- 
vals, and turning round would look back for minutes at 
a time, sheltering his eyes with liis hand, anxiously 
hoping to see his comrade, whom he believed to be still 
among the enemy. He went along the line, as our 
column retired toward Centreville, crying bitterly. " I 
didn't want to have that fellow shot," said he ; " that 
fellow has run in the fire department with me three 
years." It was truly touching to see the tender grief of 
this rough and reckless fireman, and it was even more 
so to witness the wild and overwhelming delight with 
which he met his companion at Centreville, as uninjured 
as himself, and filled with an anxiety as great as his 
own. 

One soldier, in the thickest of the fight, on being shot, 
handed his musket to his comrade, saying, " It is all 
right, Bill," and immediately expired. 

July 21. Battle of Manassas. 

In order to obtain some idea of the battle-ground, it is 
necessary for us to consider the location of the country 
and tlie approaches to Manassas, or, in other words, the 
crossings of Bull Run, for Manassas is a plain or plateau 
of open land. 

Across Bull Run, and near its confluence with the 
Occoquan, tliere is a ford, with deep pools of stagnant 
water, called Union Mills Ford, where Brigadier-General 
Ewell was posted witli his command ; a short distance 
above is McLean's Ford, where was stationed Brigadier- 
General D. R. Jones ; then still above is Blackburn's 
Ford, occupied by Longstreet's division. Next in order 
is Mitcliell's Ford, which was covered by Bonliam's 
South Carolina brioade, and which is on the most direct 



THE EEBELLTON IN THE UNITED STATES. 287 

road from Centreville to Manassas. Then comes Ball's 
Ford, about three miles above, where Colonel Cocke was 
stationed commanding a brigade, while the brigade under 
Colonel Evans formed their extreme left at the Stone 
Bridge. Tlie brigades of Brigadier-General Holmes and 
Colonel Early were in reserve in rear of their right. 
These fords were strong by nature, but made still 
stronger by engineering art, and are crossed by roads 
leading from Alexandria and Washington, now starting 
from Centreville, which is rightly named, inasmuch as 
roads radiate in every direction from the place. At 
these fords, occupying the defensive line of Bull Run, 
the Confederate army waited for the Union forces ; 
General Johnston, who was holding General Patterson 
in check at Charlestown, had been ordered to form a 
junction of his army corps with that of General Beaure- 
gard, should the movement, in his judgment, be advisa- 
ble. Accordingly, General Johnston reached Manassas 
about noon on the twentieth, preceded by the Seventh 
and Eighth Georgia regiments, and by Jackson's brigade, 
consisting of the Second, Fourth, Fifth, Twenty-seventh, 
and Thirty-third Virginia regiments. He was accom- 
panied by General Bee, with the Fourth Alabama, the 
Second and two companies of the Eleventh Mississippi. 
The president of the railroad had assured him that the 
remaining troops should arrive during the day. General 
Johnston, being the senior in rank, assumed command 
of all the forces of the Confederates States then concen- 
trating at Manassas. He, however, approved the plans 
of General Beauregard, and directed their execution 
under his command. Thus stood matters with the Con- 
federate army on the evening preceding the battle of the 
twenty-first. 

In the Union camp, the hour of midnight had scarcely 
passed, when a " long roll " from the drums brought 
that countless host to their feet, and in a few minutes all 



288 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

were ready for a march, and the dififerent divisions 
moved respectively at one, two, and three o'clock, accord- 
ing to the distances to be marched. Colonel Richard- 
son's brigade, with the Eighteenth and Thirty-second 
New York regiments, and eight guns, took position on 
tlie road leading from Centreville direct to Manassas, 
retracing his steps over the same ground where he had 
lost so many brave men only three days before. General 
Tyler, with Schenck's brigade, Sherman's and Carlisle's 
batteries, also Keyes' brigade and Colonel Sherman's 
brigade, took the Warrenton turnpike. 

The remainder of the force, including Hunter's divis- 
ion, consisting of Porter's, Burnside's, Heintzelman's, 
Willcox's, and Howard's commands — all commanded 
by McDowell — took a road which led to the rear of 
Manassas, to make an attack some distance beyond 
Tyler's, while Miles's division was held in reserve at 
Centreville. It was not designed that Richardson should 
advance, but make a demonstration, and preserve our 
own flank and communication with our base of opera- 
tions — Arlington Heights. It was bringing our forces 
to bear on the enemy in three places, that he might be 
driven back toward Manassas. 

The quiet Sabbath morning opened upon the scene 
enlivened by moving masses of men ; the red light of the 
morning, howQjrer, had scarcely broken upon that scene, 
with its landscapes, its forests, and its garniture, before 
it was obscured in the clouds of battle. 

To the left of Tyler, on a hill, was Richardson, stand- 
ing like a rock ; against which it was the design of 
McDowell to drive the rebel forces, or push them directly 
back upon Manassas. A cannonade was commenced by 
Richardson at seven o'clock in the morning. Soon after, 
Hunter commenced on the extreme advance; and not 
long after, Sherman, at the head of Tyler's force, joined 
in. From seven to ten it was carried on with increasing 



THE REBELLION IN THE' UNITED STATES. 289 

energy, the rebel batteries replying to all except Richard- 
son's. For long intervals, nothing of the conflict was 
presented, to those viewing it at a distance, but wide 
and torn curtains of smoke and dust, and the endless 
beat of the artillery. On a hill in the rear of the army 
were congregated immense crowds of camp-followers and 
spectators — politicians, idlers, and sensation-hunters ; 
while along the Warrenton road rolled one continual 
stream of baggage - wagons, ambulances, private car- 
riages, gigs, and every conceivable style of vehicle, whose 
occupants, eager to entertain themselves with the novel 
scenes of a battle, were flying along the road in the rear 
of the army, like a holiday exhibition on a race-course. 

Richardson's column was drawn up just as it had 
stood before the attack of the eighteenth. The batteries 
were firing at intervals. Breastworks were being thrown 
up and trees felled. With a glass, looking down the 
slope into the woods where the Massachusetts First 
fought so bravely, could be seen rebel soldiers moving to 
and fro. Far to their right, four or five miles, was a 
rising cloud of smoke from Hunter's Batteries. Nearer 
was Tyler's. Standing by Richardson's Batteries, and 
looking far beyond the white, sulphurous war-cloud 
rising from McDowell's attack, in the direction of 
Manassas Gap could be seen another column of dust, 
indicating an advance from that direction. 

The cannonading, which had commenced on the left, 
gradually extended along the whole line. The New York 
Sixty-ninth Regiment stripped to the skin except pants, 
and pitched into the fight regardless of fatigue or personal 
safety, and at noon the battle was raging fiercely. There 
was a constant cannonade, with rolls of musketry, which 
came in at intervals as huge breakers dash upon a rocky 
coast, and by one o'clock the whole six fords had been 
engaged, and heavy cannonading going on at all of them. 
Volleys of musketry could be heard, lasting an hour and 

25 



290 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

ten minutes. The artillery, however, bore the brunt 
of the battle, doing terrible execution. Ellsworth's Fire 
Zouaves were drawn up in line to make an attack, when 
they were assailed by a masked battery, with a strong 
support on their flank, and forced to break, but soon 
rallied and made a desperate charge upon the " Black 
Horse Cavalry," and repulsed them with great loss. 
The Zouaves fought like tigers, but were terribly cut to 
pieces. The battle was one of the severest ever fought 
on this continent. 

Not until then could one of the present generation, 
who had never witnessed a grand battle, have imagined 
such a spectacle. For miles the whole valley was a 
boiling crater of dust and smoke. 

Inch by inch we had driven the enemy and occupied 
their ground. McDowell had pressed them from his 
point of attack, and Tyler from his, — the result being to 
move the rebel forces back upon Manassas. Immense 
cheering rolled along the line as a portion of the Federal 
troops dashed up and took a rebel battery. For a few 
minutes the firing ceased, but was renewed again with 
greater vigor than at any time during the day. It was 
a continuous roar. At two o'clock we held the enemy's 
ground, and orders were sent to the rear for the pioneers 
to advance with the bridge which had been prepared. 

Soon Captain Alexander, of the Engineers, was on his 
way to biiild the bridge. " We have got their ground," 
said he ; " the boys have fought nobly, but the rebels 
have two to our one." 

Carlisle's battery was in front, and Sherman's close at 
hand on the left, on a little elevation under cover of the 
woods. On the Warrenton road, to the west, was the 
right of Tyler's column, driving the rebels in inch by 
inch. Between Carlisle's position and the Confederate 
troops the distance was about half a mile, over meadow 
land. Right behind Carlisle's was Schenck's brigade, 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 291 



against a hill. Away to the west, toward Warrenton, 

was the head of Tyler's and the whole of McDowells 

commands, with a heavy firing going on. They were 

gaining upon the enemy and pushing them further and 

further from the road. The advance, under Colonel 

Hunter, had crossed Bull Run by a circuitous track, to 

attack the enemy in the rear; on discovering which, 

Colonel Evans moved to his left from the Stone Bridge, 

with a large force and two field-pieces, which he disposed 

under cover of the wood, to oppose Hunter's advance. 

About five hundred yards distant was posted Wheats 

Louisiana battalion. Hunter at once advanced, and was 

immediately engaged with Evans's command. First and 

foremost in the fight was the Louisiana battalion, who 

fought with determined valor until Wh^at, desperately 

wounded, was carried from the field. 

The Confederates, galled and staggered by the hre, 
were losing ground, when the Fourth South Cai;olina was 
brouoht into action, having been pushed forward throug-^^i 
the woods. A fierce and destructive conflict now ensued, 
which raged in its intensity for more than an hour. The 
losses were heavy on both sides ; the ground was litera y 
covered with the dead and dying. The firing partially 
ceased, the Confederates were flying. Hunter was vic- 
torious ! Just at that moment General Bee, with the 
Seventh and Eighth Georgia regiments under Colonel 
Bartow the Fourth Alabama, Second Mississippi, and 
two companies of the Eleventh Mississippi regiments 
with Imboden's Battery, crossed the valley, and formed 
on the right and somewhat in advance of Evans. Here 
the joint forces renewed the contest, and a withering fire 
was kept up on both sides. 

About two miles nearer than the spot where the weary 
and famishing troops of Hunter were contending with 
fresh reinforcements twice their number, was a hill, and 
from its height, overlooking the whole plain, a few shells 



292 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

had in the early part of the day been thrown into the 
Federal ranks ; and as it was nearer the Manassas road 
than almost any other portion of the field, the greater 
part of the enemy's reinforcements gathered about its 
ridge as a concentrating point. Here was posted an open 
battery, with long lines of infantry in support, as if to show 
our wearied fellows the fresh forces they had to conquer. 
Here a portion of Tyler's left wing were engaged. The 
New York Sixty-ninth and Seventy-ninth were hotly 
contesting the ground ; they had taken and lost a battery 
eight times in succession, and now, totally exhausted, 
were falling back. 

It was time for more regiments to be sent forward, and 
Keyes was ordered to advance with the First Tyler Bri- 
gade. The three Connecticut regiments and the Second 
Maine came on with a will. The First Connecticut was 
posted in reserve, and the other three corps swept up 
the field, by the ford on the right, to aid the struggling 
advance. The distant hill-top now became the centre 
of the fight. The enemy's infantry could be seen ranging 
darkly against the sky beyond, and the first lines of our 
men moving with fine determination up the steep slope. 
The cannonading upon our advance, the struggle upon 
the hill-top, the interchange of position between the con- 
testants, as new forces rushed in upon the enemy's side, 
and the scene enacted over and over again, — altogether 
it was a moment of awful suspense, of suspended 
respiration. 

Away to the right, as far as the eye could reach, was 
s?en a column coming down, and for a moment it was 
believed to be a portion of Hunter's division, and that it 
had succeeded in completely turning the enemy's rear. 
A wild shout rose from the Union troops. But it was 
soon discovered that its ensigns bore secession banners, 
which was sufficient proof that some rebel general was 
leading a horde of fresh troops against our united right 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 293 



and centre. A courier had galloped from Manassas, and 
reported to Beauregard that a Federal army had reached 
the line of the Manassas Gap Railroad, marching toward 
them, and was then about three or four miles from their 
left flank. He, however, was laboring under a mistake, 
for "it proved to be General Kirby Smith, with some seven- 
teen hundred infantry of Elzey's Brigade of the Army of 
the Shenandoah, and Beckham's Battery, which had 
reached Manassas by railroad at noon. His forces were 
instantly marched across the fields to the scene of action. 
The battle was now reestablished. The aspect of affairs 
was critical and desperate in the extreme. There stood 
the Federal troops, hot and weary, inhaling the choking 
battle atmosphere, without water during fong hours of 
dust, and smoke, and insufferable heat, confronting fresh 
troops. Regiment after regiment, under able officers, 
met them on every hand. At the nearest point on the 
Manassas Railroad, cars were continually arriving, with 
hosts of soldiers, who formed in solid squares and 
moved swiftly forward to join in the contest. It was 
hard for our noble fellows to withstand these incessant 
reinforcements, yet they faltered not. 

On the hill, the Sixty-ninth and Seventy-ninth were 
compelled to abandon their work and resign its comple- 
tion to the Connecticut regiments which had just come 
up. The Third Connecticut finally carried the summit, 
unfurled the stars and stripes above it, and paused from 
the fight to cheer for the Union cause. Then the battle 
began to work down the hill, the enemy was driven 
before the desperate charges of the Federal troops, until 
they reached the very spot where Tyler's advance com- 
menced the action. Down the hill and into the valley 
thickets on the left the Zouaves, the Connecticut and 
New York regiments, with the brave Rhode Islanders, 
drove the continually enlarging columns of the Confed- 
erates. Their lines gave way, and as their shattered 

25* 



294 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



columns retired the slaughter was truly deplorable. 
With terrible desperation and the most frightful losses 
they fell back sullenly. The retreat was finally arrested 
by the energy and resolution of General Bee, supported 
by the Hampton Legion, and the timely arrival of Jack- 
son's Brigade of five regiments. A moment before. Gen- 
eral Bee had been well-nigh overwhelmed, and now 
approached General Jackson with the pathetic exclama- 
tion, " General, they are beating us back ! " to which 
the latter replied, " Sir, we'll give them the bayonet." 
General Bee immediately rallied his overtasked troops 
with the words, " There's Jackson standing like a stone- 
wall ! Let us determine to die here, and we will 
conquer ! " 

Now comes a lull in the conflict. Reports came in 
that the day was ours. Soon the telegraph had flashed 
the intelligence through all the cities in the North, that 
the Federal troops were victorious. Then we learned 
the loss of the brave Cameron, the wounding of Heint- 
zelman and Hunter, the fall of Haggerty and Slocum ; 
we heard of the dash of the Irishmen, and their decima- 
tion, and of the havoc made and sustained by the Rhode 
Islanders, the Highlanders, the Zouaves, and the Con- 
necticut Third ; then of the intrepidity of Burnside and 
Spraguc ; how the devoted and daring young governor led 
the regiments he had so munificently equipped again and 
again to victorious charges, and at last spiked with his 
own hands the guns he could not carry away. The vic- 
tory seemed complete. It was an hour sublime in unself- 
ishness, and apparently glorious in its results. We say 
apparently, for no one knew in reality whether we had 
lost or won. No general of division, except Tyler, could 
be found. 

The brave fellows fought nobly, and against almost 
insurmountable barriers, but there was a painful and 
utter want of generalship throughout the whole day. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 295 

Not only was it a day rich with the blood of brave officers 
and men in tlie Union army, but to the Confederates it 
was fraught with the loss of many of their best officers. 
General Bee was mortally wounded at the head of the 
Fourth Alabama regiment, and a few yards distant Colo- 
nel Bartow, of the 8th Georgia, and Chairman of the 
Military Committee of the Provisional Congress, had 
fallen, shot through the heart. Colonel Fisher had also 
been killed, and General Smith severely wounded. The 
conflict had been awfully terrific. 

About four miles away from the immediate field of 
action of the Confederates, on a hill in the rear of Gen- 
eral Bonham's left, were stationed the Confederate Gen- 
erals Beauregard, Johnston, and Bonham, with their 
respective staffs, watching the movements of the Union 
troops. From the summit of the hill the whole scene 
was placed before them, a grand moving diorama, and 
when the firing was at its height, the roar of artillery 
reached the hill like that of protracted thunder. About 
two o'clock in the afternoon, dashing on at headlong 
gallop, came Generals Johnston and Beauregard, reach- 
ing the field of action just as their troops were retreating 
in dismay. General Johnston charged to the front, with 
the colors of the Fourth Alabama regiment by his side. 
The presence of the two generals with the troops under 
fire inspired them with new confidence. They were 
instantly occupied with the re-organization of the troops. 
In a brief and rapid conference. General Beauregard was 
assigned to the command of the left, which, as the younger 
officer, he claimed, while General Johnston returned to 
that of the whole field, the result of which was a com- 
bined attack of infantry and cavalry on our front and 
rear. 

It was now near four o'clock, and the firing had gradu- 
ally died away, and reports came in that the day was 
ours. Captain Alexander, with his sappers and miners. 



298 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

had been ordered to cut through the abatis by the side 
of the Stone Bridge, which was said to be mined, and 
lay pontoons across the stream. Carlisle's artillery was 
detailed to protect the work, and the Ohio and Wisconsin 
reserve to support the artillery. The Ohio, Connecticut, 
and Minnesota regiments were variously posted there- 
about ; others were in distant portions of the field. All 
were completely exhausted, and partly dissevered. 
Vivandiers were busy in their noble acts of mercy, and 
the little Stone Church in the vicinity of Centreville was 
already crowded with the wounded, and its walls re- 
echoed the groans of the dying ; while ambulances and 
wagons were gradually advancing on the battle-field, to 
receive their precious freight of souls. Away in the 
northwest arose an immense cloud of dust, which seemed 
to be moving toward us. What could it mean ? Was it 
our cavalry, or what was it ? It was the result of the 
deliberations of Beauregard and Johnston. A sudden 
swoop and a body of cavalry four thousand strong, under 
Colonel Stuart, rushed down upon our columns near the 
bridge, and behind them Colonel Early with Elzey's 
Brigade — Tenth Virginia, First Maryland, Third Ten- 
nessee, Eighth and Second South Carolina, Eighteenth 
and Twenty-eighth Virginia — with Beckham's Battery, 
advanced, in an irregular line, almost simultaneously. 
Tbey had crossed Bull Run several miles above, and had 
come down secretly through the woods on the left, and the 
first intimation the Federal troops had of their presence 
was a volley in their rear, and at the same time General 
Beauregard in front rapidly seized the opportunity and 
threw forward his whole line. It was a great strategic 
plan. The force of rebels in front across the meadows, 
was only a feint to attract attention from the cat-like step 
which was taking place in our rear. They had given 
way before us, we had followed up, went far enough in 
for the grand stroke which they must make to retrieve 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 297 



the day, and then came down upon us like a thunder- 
bolt. The next moment all was confusion. Three 
minutes' notice, and Sherman's and Carlisle's batteries 
would have done fearful execution with the Black Horse 
troop ; but we had no flankers out, consequently no one 
to give notice of their approach, and hence the terrible 
rout that ensued. We gained a victory, but yet were 
routed. I cannot describe the scene which followed. I 
would, if 1 could, banish it forever from my mind. All 
I can say is, that we fought against terrible odds in num- 
bers, against masked batteries, with foes under cover. 
We drove them, occupied their ground, and yet in the 
moment of victory suffered a most terrible defeat. 

Our infantry broke ranks in the field, plunged into the 
woods to avoid the road, and got up the hill as best they 
could, without leaders, every man saving himself in his 
own way. General Tyler and staff, with the reserve, were 
a])i)arently cut off by the quick manoeuvre, and McDowell 
was nowhere to be found. Captain Alexander, and many 
others, endeavored by most gallant but unavailing exer- 
tions to check the onward tumult. "Hold up, men ! " 
he shouted ; " don't be such infernal cowards ! " and he 
rode backward and forward, placing his horse across the 
road, and vainly trying to rally the running troops. The 
teams and wagons confused and dismembered every 
corps. The cavalry dashed upon our men, captured 
Carlisle's and a part of Sherman's guns — shooting the 
horses ; captured soldiers ; deliberately shot them after 
they had surrendered ; went into the house used as a 
hospital, and killed the wounded men ; and committed 
barbarities which the most abject savages in the world 
would scorn to do. One rebel soldier was seen to cut the 
throat of a helpless wounded soldier ! One took a stake 
from the fence and drove it through the body of a 
wounded man, pinning him to the earth ! 

But what a scene ! and how terrific the onset of that 



298 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

tumultuous retreat ! For three miles, hosts of Federal 
troops — all detached from their regiments, all mingled 
in one disorderly rout — were fleeing along the road, but 
mostly through the lots on either side. Army wagons, 
sutlers' teams, and private carriages choked the passage, 
tumbling against each other, amid clouds of dust and 
sickening sights and sounds. Hacks, containing unlucky 
spectators of the late affray, were smashed like glass, and 
the occupants were lost sight of in the debris. Horses 
flying wildly from the battle-field, many of them in death 
agony, galloped at random forward, joining in the stam- 
pede. Those on foot who could catch them rode them 
bare back, as much to save themselves from being run 
over, as to make quicker time. Wounded men, lying 
along the banks — the few either left on the field or 
taken to the captured hospitals — appealed, with raised 
hands, to those who rode horses, begging to be lifted 
behind, but few regarded such petitions. Then the artil- 
lery, such as was saved, came thundering along, smashing 
and overpowering every thing. The Regular cavalry 
joined in the melee, adding to its terrors, for they rode 
down footmen without mercy. One of the great guns 
was overturned, and lay amid the ruins of a caisson. 

An artillery man was running between the ponderous 
fore and after wheels of his gun-carriage, hanging on 
with both hands, and vainly striving to jump upon the 
ordnance, while the drivers were spurring the horses. 
Finding he could not cling much longer, a more agonized 
expression never fixed the features of a drowning man. 
The carriage bounded from the roughness of a steep hill 
leading to a creek, he lost his hold, fell, and in an instant 
the great wheels had crushed the life out of him. Who 
ever saw such a flight ? It did not slack in the least 
until Centreville was reached. There, the sight of the 
reserve — Miles's Brigade — formed in order on the hill, 
seemed somewhat to reassure the van. But still the 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 299 

teams and foot soldiers pushed on, passing their own 
camps, and heading swiftly for the distant Potomac, until 
for ten miles the road over which the grand army had so 
lately passed southward, gay with unstained banners, 
and flushed with surety of strength, was covered with the 
fragments of its retreating forces, shattered and panic- 
stricken in a single day. From the branch route the 
trains attached to Hunter's Division had caught the con- 
tagion of the flight, and poured into its already swollen 
current anotlier turbid freshet of confusion and dismay. 
Who ever saw a more shameful abandonment of muni- 
tions gathered at such vast expense ? The teamsters, 
many of them, cut the traces off their horses, and galloped 
from the wagons. Others threw out their loads to accel- 
erate their flight, and grain, picks and shovels, and pro- 
visions of every kind, lay trampled in the dust for leagues. 
Thousands of muskets strewed the route. If the enemy 
had brought up his artillery and served it upon the retreat- 
ing train, or had intercepted our progress with five hun- 
dred of his cavalry, he might have captured enough sup- 
plies for a week's feast of thanksgiving. As it was, enough 
was left behind to tell the story of the panic. The rout 
of the Federal army seemed complete. 

The grand army under General McDowell numbered 
about sixty tliousand men, twenty thousand of which 
were engaged at one time ; the Confederate force at the 
battle of Manassas numbered seventy-five thousand, thirty 
thousand of which were in action. Some little idea may 
be derived of the immense Union force engaged, from 
the fact that the main body of infantry which left Centre- 
ville at two o'clock in the morning was five hours in 
passing a given point. From the beginning to the end, 
not a soldier flinched, and an Englishman was present, 
and who had been in all the Crimean battles, said such 
charges as the Fire Zouaves and the Sixty-ninth Regiment 
made he did not see at Inkermann or at Alma. 



300 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

A few days after, one of Ellsworth's Fire Zouaves was 
seen quietly walking the street in New York. On being 
asked how he came there, replied, " Why, you see, at 
the Battle of Bull Run the order was given to retreat, 
and, as we were never commanded to halt, we kept on 
retreating till I arrived in New York." 

The Pennsylvania Fourth left the field in face of the 
battle, their time having expired the day previous. Tlie 
officers begged, protested, in vain, to have them stay, 
and themselves remained after their troops had left. 
When the Massachusetts First were extended to the left 
of the enemy's intrenchments, both were unaware of the 
other's presence, but on discovery the rebels sprung to 
arms. Somebody crying out, " Hold ! " the rebels in- 
quired, " Who are you ? " 

In response to the Massachusetts First the rebels re- 
plied, " Damn you ! you are just the men we want to 
shoot ! " and then fired. 

One man received a number of balls, fell dead, and 
rolled into tlieir intrenchments, where the victors hacked 
him to pieces with sabres. Others they battered over 
their heads and faces with the butts of their muskets. 

At one time during the battle. Colonel Cowdin stood 
leaning his back against a tree in a very exposed position, 
when a friend expostulated with him for his recklessness. 
The colonel replied that the bullet was not molded that 
would shoot him that day. In a few seconds after, 
another personal friend came up, and the colonel took 
a step forward to grasp the hand of his friend, when 
a conical cannon-ball struck on the spot where an 
instaiit before was the head of Colonel Cowdin, shat- 
tering the tree into splinters. The colonel turned about 
calmly, and remarked that he was certain that the ball 
that would kill him was not yet cast, and proceeded to 
issue his commands. 

The Union loss in killed and wounded was one thousand 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES, 301 

eight hundred, and one thousand five hundred taken pris- 
oners. The loss of the Confederates, according to Beau- 
regard's report, was one thousand sis hundred. 

Not only were the greatest indignities heaped upon the 
wounded and dying, hut the outrages upon the dead will 
revive the recollections of the cruelties to which savage 
tribes subject their prisoners. They were buried in many 
cases naked, the Confederates having stripped them of 
their uniforms, which they appropriated to their own 
use, as in subsequent battles we find whole regiments 
dressed in the uniforms of the Federal soldiers, by which 
means they were enabled to come close into our ranks 
and overpower us by force of numbers before they were 
discovered to be the enemy ; and many were buried with 
their faces downward, as a mark of indignity, and some 
were left to decay in the open air ; their bones were car- 
ried off as trophies, sometimes to be used as personal 
adornments, and in one instance, at least, the head of one 
of our most gallant officers was cut off by a New Orleans 
artillery man, which, he said, he was going to send home 
and have mounted, and that he intended to drink a 
brandy punch out of it the day he was married. 

Governor Sprague, of Rhode Island, visited the battle- 
field to recover the bodies of Colonel Slocum and Major 
Ballou of tlie Rhode Island regiment. He took out with 
him several of his own men to identify the graves. We 
give Governor Sprague's own statement, taken from the 
report of the Senate Connnittec : 

On reaching the place, he states that " We commenced 
digging for the bodies of Colonel Slocum and Major 
Ballou, at the spot pointed out to us by these men who 
had been in the action. While digging, some negro 
women came up and asked wliom we were looking for, 
and at the same time said that ' Colonel Slogun ' had 
been dug up by the rebels, by some men of a Georgia 
regiment, his head cut off, and his body taken to a ravine 

26 



302 THE EEEELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

thirty or forty yards below, and there burned. We 
stopped digging, and went to the spot designated, where 
we found coals and ashes and bones mingled together. 
A little distance from there we found a shirt (still but- 
toned at the neck) and blanket with large quantities of 
hair upon it, every thing indicating the burning of a body 
there. We returned and dug down at the spot indicated 
as the grave of Major Ballon, but found no body tbere ; 
but at the place pointed out as the grave where Colonel 
Slocum was buried we found a box, which, upon being 
raised and opened, was found to contain the body of 
Colonel Slocum. The soldiers who had buried the two 
bodies were satisfied that the grave had been opened ; 
the body taken out, beheaded, and burned, was that of 
Major Ballon, because it was not in the spot where Col- 
onel Slocum was buried, but rather to the right of it. 
They at once said that the rebels had made a mistake, 
and had taken the body of Major Ballou for that of Col- 
onel Slocum. The shirt found near the place where the 
body was burned I recognized as one belonging to Major 
Ballou, as I had been very intimate with him. We 
gathered up the ashes containing the portion of his 
remains that were left, and put them in a coffin, together 
with his shirt and the blanket with the hair left upon it. 
After we had done this, we went to that portion of the 
field where the battle had first commenced, and began to 
dig for the remains of Captain Tower. We brought a 
soldier with us to designate the place where he was 
buried. He had been wounded in the battle, and had 
seen from the window of the house where the captain was 
interred. On opening the ditch or trench, we found it 
filled with soldiers, all buried with their faces downward. 
On taking up some four or five, we discovered the remains 
of Captain Tower, mingled with those of the men. We 
took them, placed them in a coffin, and brought them 
home." 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 303 

The Eighth Georgia I'egiment, under Colonel B'artow, 
tvhich, the Confederates say, was made up of their best 
citizens, had suffered terribly, about half of it being de- 
stroyed, and this outrage upon the body of Colonel Slocura 
or Major Ballou was committed by some of that same regi- 
ment, out of sheer brutality, on account of his courage and 
chivalry in forcing his regiment fearlessly and bravely 
upon them. The Federal soldiers taken prisoners in 
honorable battle were subjected to the most shameful 
treatment. All the considerations that inspire chivalric 
emotions and generous respect for brave men were disre- 
garded. Among other instances, we give a portion of 
General Ricketts' account of his treatment while a pris- 
oner, also taken from the Senate Committee's report. 
He says that,— 

" After having been wounded in the Battle of Bull 
Hun, he was captured, and as he lay helpless on his back, 
a party of rebels passing him cried out, ' Knock out his 
brains, the d ' d Yankee ! ' He met General Beaure- 
gard, an old acquaintance, only a year his senior at the 
United States Military Academy, where both were edu- 
cated. He had met the rebel general in the South a num- 
ber of times. By this head of the rebel army, on the day 
after the battle he was told that his (General Ricketts') 
treatment would depend upon the treatment extended to 
the rebel privateers (Savannah's). His first lieutenant, 
Ramsey, who was killed, was stripped of every article of 
liis clothing but his socks, and left naked on the field. 
He testified that those of our wounded who died in Rich- 
mond were buried in the negro burying-ground among 
the negroes, and were put into the earth in the most 
unfeeling manner. He himself, while in prison, subsisted 
mainly upon what he purchased with his own money, the 
money brought to him by his wife, who, having first 
heard that he was killed in battle, afterwards that he was 
alive, but wounded, travelled under great difficulties to 



804 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Manassas to see her husband. She had almost to fight 
her way through, but succeeded finally in reaching him 
on the fourth day after the battle. Tliere were eight 
persons in the room, in the Lewis House at Manassas, 
where General Eicketts and his wife slept for two weeks 
on tlic floor without a bed. At the end of that time they 
wore taken to Richmond, where they Avere put into a 
room with four others, and among them was Colonel 
Wilcox, who remained with them until he was taken to 
Charleston ; there being no door, the room could not be 
closed, and they were exposed to the gaze of the multi- 
tude as a common show. 

" Finally, on the 10th of November, while he was too 
lame to walk, and while his wounds were still open and 
unhealed, he was selected as a hostage for a privateer, 
l)y General Winder, whom he had known for twenty odd 
years, and who had been an officer in his regiment. 
This he considered bad treatment ; but says, however, 
that Wade Hampton, whose battery was opposed to his 
(Ricketts') battery, came to see him and behaved like a 
generous enemy. Mrs. Ricketts' carriage and horses 
were taken from her by General Johnston, at Manassas, 
and never returned." 

The case of Louis Francis, who was terribly wounded 
and maltreated, and lost a leg, is referred to by General 
Ricketts ; but the testimony of Francis himself is start- 
ling. He was a private in the New York Fourteenth 
Regiment. He says : " I was attacked by two rebel 
soldiers, and wounded in the right knee with the bay- 
onet. As I lay on the sod they kept bayoneting me until 
I received fourteen wounds. One then left me, the other 
remaining over me, when a Union soldier coming up shot 
him in the breast, and he fell dead. I lay on the ground 
until ten o'clock next day. I was then removed in a wag- 
on to a building, my wounds examined and partially 
dressed. On the Saturday following we were carried to 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



305 



Manassas, and from there to the general liospital at 
Richmond. My leg having partially mortified, I con- 
sented that it should be amputated, which operation was 
performed by a yomig man. I insisted that they should 
allow Dr. Swalm to be present, for I wanted one Union 
man there if I died under the operation. The stitches 
and the band slipped from neglect, and the bone pro- 
truded; and about two weeks after, another operation 
was performed, at which time another piece of the thigh- 
bone was sawed off. Six weeks after the amputation, and 
before it healed, I was removed to the tobacco factory." 

Two operations were subsequently performed on 
Francis — one at Fortress Monroe, and one at Brooklyn, 
New York — after his release from captivity. 

Dr. J. M. Homiston, surgeon of the Fourteenth New 
York (or Brooklyn) regiment, captured at Bull Run, 
testifies that " when he solicited permission to remain on 
the field, and to attend to wounded men, some of whom 
were in a helpless and painful condition and suffering 
for water, he was brutally refused, and when at last they 
were permitted to go to tlie relief of our wounded, the 
secession surgeon would not allow them to perform opera- 
tions, but intrusted the wounded to his young assistants," 
but who were not allowed to operate on any of their own 
wounded, and that these inexperienced surgeons per- 
formed operations upon the Federal prisoners in a most 
horrible manner. 

" When," he adds, " I asked Doctor Darby to allow 
me to amputate the leg of Corporal Prescott, of our regi- 
ment, and said that the man must die if it were not done, 
he told me that I sliould be allowed to do it." While 
Doctor Homiston was waiting, he says a secessionist came 
through the room and said, " They are operating upon 
one of the Yankee's legs up-stairs." " 1 went up and 
found that they had cut off Frescott's leg. The assistants 
were pulling on the flesh at each side, trying to get flap 

26* 



306 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

enough to cover the bone. They had sawed off the bone 
without leaving any of the flesh to form the flaps to cover 
it ; and with all tlie force they could use they could not 
get flap enough to cover the bone. They were then 
obliged to saw off about an inch more of the bone, and 
even then, when they came to put in the sutures (the 
stitches), they could not approximate the edges within 
less than an incli and a half of each other ; of course, 
as soon as there was any swelling, the stitches tore out, 
and the bone stuck through again. Doctor Swalm tried 
afterwards to remedy it by performing another operation, 
but Prescott had become so debilitated that he did not 
survive." 

Among the many incidents of the battle of Bull Run, 
we give the following as an instance of fidelity and affec- 
tion worthy of record. 

"While in camp at Fall's Church, at Centreville, and all 
along the route on the weary march of our troops to 
Manassas, two privates in one of the Western regiments 
attracted much observation and comment from tlieir evi- 
dent fondness for each other, and want of interest in 
every one else ; they occupied the same quarters, ate 
together, slept together, marched side by side, and seemed 
perfectly happy while in each other's society ; and as 
their names were the same, they were supposed to be 
brothers, yet no one knew. They stood together on the 
battle-field of Manassas, and fought courageously and 
desperately until one fell mortally wounded, and soon 
expired. When he fell, his companion threw away his 
musket, fell down on the ground beside him, with 
uplifted hands, and uttering the most heart-rending cries, 
begged of him in the most pitiful accents not to die, but 
to live for his sake ; that without him life was worthless ; 
but if he must die, he too would welcome the fatal shot 
which would lay him by his side in the same grave. All 
disguise now was useless, and he stood forth, not the 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 307 

loving brother, but the devoted wife of the dying soldier. 
Around them were gathered a group of hardy men, who 
respected her grief and admired her devotion ; and when 
the troops retreated, neither she nor her precious charge 
was forgotten. Three stout men turned and brushed 
away their tears, as they lifted the lifeless body upon 
their shoulders to bear it to Centreville, while she walked 
by their side, a perfect living picture of agony and 
despair. Six months after the battle, a wounded soldier 
who was an eye-witness to the scene, related the sad 
story, and, while the tears rolled down his cheeks, said, 
" I seem to hear that piercing shriek and wailing voice 
ringing in my ears even now." 

We had hitherto underrated the strength of the enemy, 
and had had no just conception of their generalship. 
We had placed in command and put our trust in a man 
who, if loyal, was incompetent, or if competent, was 
disloyal ; consequently we were outgeneralled by the 
Confederates, and terrible was our defeat. 

On the Sunday following the battle of Bull Run, 
services in many of the churches of the free States were 
suspended, and men, women, and children spent the day, 
as well as many succeeding days, in scraping liiit, pre- 
paring bandages and other articles indispensable to the 
wounded. In Boston, in many of the churches, the con- 
gregations assembled*, and a prayer was offered; then they 
were dismissed with the " benediction," and requested to 
repair immediately, each one to his own home, or to the 
rooms opened for that purpose, and spend the day in 
preparing lint, bandages, and such other things as were 
needful for the comfort of the soldiers. Merchants 
opened their stores, and bales on bales of linen were 
rolled out, which was eagerly caught up and conveyed 
to the Sanitary Rooms, and in a few minutes were torn 
into strips and rolled in bandages, and tliat night twenty- 
seven car-loads of hospital stores left Boston for the battle- 



# 



308 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

field, contributed by the good people of Maine and Mas- 
sachusetts, for the use of the wounded belonging to their 
respective States. 

A leading Southern newspaper announced a complete 
and brilliant victory at Manassas, and declared, " The 
independence of the Confederacy is secured." There 
could never have been a greater mistake. The active 
and elastic spirit of the North was soon at work to repair 
its fortunes ; and time and opportunity were given it by 
the South, not only to recover lost resources, but to 
invent new. The government at Washington displayed 
an energy which, perhaps, is the most remarkable phe- 
nomenon in the whole history of the war ; it multiplied 
its armies ; it reassured the confidence of the people ; it 
recovered itself from financial straits, which were .almost 
thought to be hopeless ; and while the politicians of the 
South were declaring that the Federal treasury was 
bankrupt, it negotiated a loan of one hundred and fifty 
millions of dollars from the banks of New York, Phila- 
delphia, and Boston, at a rate but a fraction above that 
of legal interest in the State of New York. 

The North were forced to acknowledge a defeat at once 
humiliating and terrible ; and various were the causes 
assigned for it, and among them was the incompetence 
or disloyalty of their general officers ; the non-arrival 
of General Patterson in time to reinforce McDowell ; 
the premature advance of the army under General 
Scott's direction ; and the clamor was now for new com- 
manders. 

The commander-in-chief. General Scott, was said to 
be impaired in his faculties by age, and it was urged that 
he should yield the command to a younger and more 
efficient spirit. 

The call for a " younger general," to take command 
of the Federal forces, was responded to by the appoint- 
ment of General George B. McClellan to the command 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 309 

of the Army of the Potomac, who superseded General 
Scott, so far as the responsibility of active service was 
concerned, though he retained his nominal position and 
pay as a lieutenant-general and commander-in-chief 
of the army of the United States. General McClellan 
had become immensely popular by his successes in North- 
western Virginia, in the affair of Rich Mountain and the 
pursuit of General Garnett, consequently the substitution 
of General McClellan for General McDowell was hailed 
throughout the country with great gratification. 

General Dix was placed in command of the Depart- 
ment of Maryland, and General Banks superseded Gen- 
eral Patterson in command on the Upper Potomac ; then 
followed a general disorganization of McDowell's army, 
the three-months' men returning home, except a few com- 
panies who volunteered to stay a short time longer, in 
anticipation of an attacli on Washington by the Confed- 
erates, and Jiow and then a company who remained by 
joining some of the three years' regiments. 

At Fortress Monroe, also, several of the regiments left 
for home, their time having expired, but most of them 
reenlisted in a few days for three years. 

To the brave man, defeat is only an argument for 
renewed exertion ; and so it was with the people of the 
North. Tlieir defeat at Bull Run put new life into their 
slumbering ranks, and in less tlian three days over sixty 
thousand fresh men were accepted at the War Depart- 
ment for three years' service ; besides several batteries 
of artillery. The response from every quarter was truly 
patriotic. 

In the mean time, the prize money offered by President 
Davis to privateers was an additional inducement for 
depredations upon the high seas, and among the most 
powerful and industrious of that craft was the daring pri- 
vateer " Jeff. Davis," and the saucy, reckless " Sumter," 
both of which penetrated Northern waters to a degree 



310 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



beyond what was requisite for the safety of Northern 
bound vessels. 

The brig John Walsh, of Philadeldphia, from Trinidad 
for Falmouth, England, was captured by a privateer, 
who, after firing a shot across her bows causing her to 
heave to, lowered a boat with eight men, all well armed, 
and went on board. The privateer was sailing under the 
French flag, which was hauled down as soon as they 
boarded the John Walsh, and the Confederate flag run 
up. The officers in charge of the boat on reaching the 
deck demanded the ship's papers, and then declared the 
brig a prize to the Southern Confederacy. The captain 
and all hands, nine men and a boy, were taken on board 
the privateer, and a prize crew corresponding in number 
was put on board the John Walsh, and ordered South. 
They soon ascertained their captor to be the brig " Jeff. 
Davis," Captain Coxetteer, of Charleston, two hundred 
tons, seventy men, and five guns. The next day being 
Sunday, they held religions services on board in the 
forenoon, and in the afternoon captured the schooner 
S. J. Waring, of Brookhaven ; and on the following^day 
captured schooner Enchantress, of Newburyport ; and the 
next day boarded the ship Mary Goodell, Captain McGil- 
vrey, from New York for Buenos Ayres, and took five of 
her crew and nearly all her water ; but as her cargo was 
of no value to them, it being British property, and the 
ship too large to get into the Southern inlets, tlie pri- 
vateer concluded to put the captured officers on board 
of her, and let her go. They were therefore transferred 
to the ship. The privateer supposed that the ship would 
continue her voyage, and thus prevent the news from 
reaching the United States, but as soon as the privateer 
was out of sight, the ship bore away for Portland, having 
on board Captain Fifiold of the John Walsh, Captain 
Smith of the S. J. Waring, and Captain Devereux of the 
schooner Enchantress. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



311 



The S, J. Waring had a prize crew put on board, and 
ordered south ; and on the night of the 16th, when fifty 
miles south of Charleston, the steward, William Tillman, 
colored, killed three of the prize crew with a hatchet. 
The other two were released on promising to assist in 
working the vessel. Tillman, with the aid of the rest 
of the crew, except one named Donald McLeod, who 
refused to assist in recapturing the vessel, brought her 
into New York. 

The John Walsh had six months' stores on board, all 
of which were taken except enough to last the prize crew, 
which was selected to correspond with the crew on the 
ship's papers, to deceive the Federal cruisers. 

All the crew were taken from the Enchantress except 
the negro cook. Two men and a passenger were left on 
board the schooner S. J. Waring with the prize crew. 

The privateer run down in every case under the 
French flag, and set the Confederate flag on boarding. 
She left Charleston on the, 28th of June. The John 
Walsh was her first prize. 

They also captured the brig Mary E. Thompson, of 
Searsport, Me., while on her passage from Bangor for 
Antigua, with a cargo of lumber, ransacking the vessel, 
taking from her every thing that suited their fancy, such 
as her only boat, oars, spare rigging, &c. ; and after 
putting on board four prisoners previously taken from 
other vessels, released her. 



CHAPTER XY. 



Then Nature must teach us the strength of the chain 
Which her petulant children would sever in vain. 

August 1. General McClellan commenced the re- 
organization of the army, and issued an order requesting 
the editors of all newspapers in the loyal States and Dis- 
trict of Columbia to refrain from publishing, either as 
editorial or correspondence, or from any point, any mat- 
ter that might furnish aid and comfort to the enemy. 
The rebels left Harper's Ferry, and fell back to Lees- 
burg. 

The privateer Petrel was sunk by a broadside from the 
United States frigate St. Lawrence, off Charleston, S. C. 
The Petrel came boldly out of Charleston harbor, and 
probably mistaking the St. Lawrence for a merchant 
vessel, fired two shots at her ; when the St. Lawrence 
returned the fire, and the first discharge sunk her, cutting 
her completely in two. Five of her men were drowned, 
but the remaining thirty-six were saved, and put on 
board the United States gunboat Flag, and taken to Phil- 
adelphia. The rebel vessel was formerly the revenue 
cutter Aiken, which was seized by the Soutli Carolina 
authorities in December, 1860, and under her new com- 
mission named the Petrel. 

August 2. The war tax and tariff bill passed Con- 
gress ; five hundred thousand men were to be imme- 
diately raised and equipped, for three years' service or 
during the war. 

The rebellion in the West. 

Battle of Dug Springs, Missouri. General Lyon, with 
a force of six thousand men, were encamped at Pond 

312 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 313 



Spring, ten miles west of Springfield, when the terrible 
news of the disastrous defeat at Bull Run reached him, 
which inspired him with new courage, and a fresh desire 
to recover in the West whatever might have been lost in 
the East. On Thursday morning, the first day of August, 
intelligence was brought that Ben McCulloch, with fifteen 
thousand men, was encamped near Tirrell Creek, twelve 
miles southwest of Springfield. General Lyon imme- 
diately ordered all the regiments of infantry and the 
batteries of artillery and the cavalry to march southward 
and unite for an attack on the enemy. 

About sundown the tents were struck, the baggage 
loaded, and in a short time thereafter the notes of the 
" Assembly" rolled over the prairie, and the troops com- 
menced their march. Their course lay through the open 
prairie for some miles, and then entered the woods ; and 
a more devious route than that pursued by them that 
night was never before made, not excepting the journey- 
ings of the children of Israel through the wilderness ; 
first to the north, then to the south, they ran across the 
milky way, then went parallel with it, and, in fact, went 
toward so many points of the horizon that the record of 
half of them would drive any ordinary compass distracted. 
However, they plunged ahead, and late in the night, or 
rather early in the morning, they reached a point where 
the road intersected the road leading south from Spring- 
field, and where they expected to meet General Sigel 
and Colonel Solomon, and about one o'clock they camped 
in a miserable ravine within three miles of the rebel army, 
and the men slept on their arms. But in the morning 
it was found that the enemy had retreated further south- 
ward. Lyon immediately pushed on in pursuit ; the three 
miles lengthened into ten before the enemy showed his 
face, and by this time a large percentage of the men 
were completely used up. Several were prostrate from 
sunstroke, and many had fallen from sheer exhaustion. 

27 



314 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



About three o'clock p. m. the road emerged from the 
woods, and ran for a mile or so over a bushy plateau — 
about the centre of which stood a log-house. As the 
head of the column issued from the wood, some twenty 
horsemen or more were seen grouped around the log- 
house, evidently awaiting their appearance. 

Captain Totten, who was in advance, instantly unlim- 
bered a twelve-pounder and sent a shot crashing through 
the beams of the roof, not more than two feet above the 
heads of the party. " Boot and saddle ! " was instantly 
tlie order of things, and scarcely had the report ceased 
reverberating among the peaks and hollows of the Ozark 
Mountains, ere the whole crowd had disappeared in a 
cloud of dust of their own raising, as they spurred south- 
ward. 

About a mile further on the road ascends a steep hill 
and is lost in the timber ; beyond which in the valley — - 
which was covered with low oak brush — was a white 
frame house, and a couple of log shanties, which consti- 
tuted the place known as Dug Spring, and is situated in 
Curran township, nineteen miles southward of Spring- 
field, on the Fayetteville road. Just beyond, the enemy 
were encamped at the opening of a prairie valley, and 
chiefly in a southwestern bend, separated from our forces 
by a moderate sized but steep hill. 

General Lyon immediately sent forward two companies 
of cavalry, under command of Captain Stanley and Lieu- 
tenant Kelley, and Captain Steele, Second Lifantry, with 
orders to hold the enemy in check, effect a reconnois- 
sauce, and, if necessary, to retire slowly. This detail 
pushed ahead, — the cavalry deployed to the left in front 
of a cornfield that lay to the left of the road and in front 
of the opposite hill ; the infantry marched into the tim- 
ber at the right, and advanced upon the enemy as 
skirmishers. In the mean time the balance of the 
column had marched down into about the centre of 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 315 

the valley, and within half a mile of the further hill was 
halted. 

The artillery was posted on the hill-sides commanding 
the valley. At four o'clock in the afternoon the engage- 
ment commenced. The fight was carried on chiefly by 
artillery and cavalry ; the infantry were not engaged. 
The enemy seemed to have but two pieces of artillery, 
and with these only ten rounds were fired, while an 
equal number were fired by the National batteries. Early 
in the engagement, a detachment of twenty-seven United 
States cavalry, led by a lieutenant, rode over the hill 
toward the part of the valley where the enemy were 
supposed to be posted, to observe and ascertain if the 
rebels were approaching. As soon as they had passed 
the ridge they found themselves directly upon a large 
body of rebel infantry, variously estimated at from two 
to four thousand. There was no retreat, and so putting 
spurs into their horses, and grasping their sabres, the 
brave twenty-seven rode directly into the midst of the 
enemy. So sudden and unexpected was their charge, 
and so little did the enemy judge rightly of the force 
of the cavalry, that a stampede took place among the 
infantry ; and, taking advantage of the confusion, the 
horsemen cut their way through the formidable mass of 
opposing men, came out to the valley, and rode back to 
camp, having lost but five men. One of the killed was 
the lieutenant commanding, who had fought most fear- 
lessly. He had killed six rebels, struck a seventh to the 
ground, and was trying to meet the attack of an eighth, 
when the prostrate man, taking advantage of his posi- 
tion, shot him. He still had strength to finish the work 
of death with the first, and then avenge his own fatal 
wound upon the foe who had given it. After that, he 
turned and rode away, but had not gone two hundred 
yards before he fell dead from his horse. 

The fight lasted till dark. In the morning it was dis- 



316 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



covered that McCulloch had again fled, and intelligence 
was brought that he had encamped a few miles south, at 
a place called McCullough's Store. 

On Saturday morning the army moved forward with 
great caution. About a mile from camp, and in the 
field of the last night's action, a wounded soldier was 
found who belonged to the United States Dragoons. He 
stated that he was caught by the enemy, being wounded 
by a bayonet thrust. Soon after they took him Captain 
Totten fired his shell among them with such a terrible 
effect, that they fled, but before going struck him from 
his horse with the butt of a musket, leaving him for dead 
where he fell. On approaching Curran, the rebels were 
seen in force on the hill-side, immediately southwest of 
that place. Their advance was three thousand strong, 
under the command of General Rains. General Lyon 
immediately formed his army for battle, and gave the 
order for them to advance. 

As two columns were approaching the timber, to flank 
the enemy, Captain Dubois opened a spirited fire from 
his battery of artillery upon the position of the enemy, 
causing them to retire in hot haste. 

The army encamped for the night at Curran. On Sun- 
day morning. General Lyon determined to retrace liis 
steps and return to Springfield, fearing, as most of the 
rebels were mounted, they might flank him, cut off his 
retreat, and, as Springfield was almost entirely defence- 
less, enter and occupy that place. 

About a mile from the scene of the battle or skirmish 
was a farm-house, in which were found five wounded men 
and one dead, — all of whom belonged to the enemy. 
One was shot through the hip, another had his ankle 
shattered to splinters, a third was shot through the 
shoulders, while the others had wounds of minor conse- 
quence. The house also presented a horrible appear- 
ance, — blood was all over the floor in rivulets and pools ; 





MAJ GEII. GEORGE B M-CLELLAKI 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 317 

it was tracked up the stairway, and stained the bed-cov- 
ering ; in short, it existed in gory hideoiisness every- 
where. 

The loss of the Confederates was forty killed and left on 
the field, and forty-four wounded ; eighty stand of arms, 
fifteen horses, and a wagon loaded with bacon, besides a 
few prisoners, were captured. The whole appearance 
of tlie field showed sharp fighting on the part of the Fed- 
eral troops. Men were found with their heads fairly cloven 
through from scalp to chin by the fierce sabre-stroke of 
the cavalry. The Confederate forces under Generals 
Rains, Price, and Parsons, at Dug Spring, was twenty 
thousand, while General McCulloch had four thousand 
well-armed and effective men. The Union loss was eight 
killed and thirty -nine wounded. 

Fort Fillmore, New Mexico, was traitorously surren- 
dered by Major Lynde, who had seven hundred and fifty 
men, yet made very little resistance. 

Lieutenant-colonel Baylor, commanding the Confed- 
erate forces at Fort Bliss, Texas, left there on the 24th 
ultimo, with the forces under his command, about three 
hundred men, for the Mesilla Valley ; and after a tedious 
march of four or five days, arrived and took position 
within six hundred yards of Fort Fillmore, where pickets 
were placed out, and every precaution taken to storm the 
fort by surprise the next morning at daybreak. The plan 
would have been a complete success but for the desertion 
of a picket, who went into the fort and gave the alarm. 
The fort was alive in a few minutes, and it was evident 
th*^. surprise was a failure. 

The Confederate force then moved across thi? river, 
*pd at daylight took the town of Sante Thomas. Two 
■aompanies of Federal troops had been stationed there, 
but had left on the approach of the Confederates, evi- 
dently in great haste. Clothing, provisions, ammunition, 
and supplies, were left behind in considerable quantities. 

27* 



318 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Eight prisoners were taken, disarmed, and then dis- 
charged, after being sworn not to fight against the Con- 
federacy, Colonel Baylor telling them that he would 
rather fight them than feed them. 

About ten o'clock the Confederate forces entered Me- 
silla, and were received with every manifestation of joy 
by the citizens. Vivas and hurrahs rang them welcome 
from every point. Preparations were immediately made 
to receive an attack from the Federalists, and about 
noon on the 1st of August the Federal troops were 
reported crossing the river. About five o'clock the clouds 
of dust indicated their approach, at the southern end of 
the city, and the whole force of the Confederates was 
moved to that point. 

Several of the principal streets of Mesilla converge at 
the southern end of the town, the houses forming an 
angle, and they are quite scattered ; old corrals, and 
the proximity of the cornfields make the position a very 
advantageous one for defence. The companies were 
stationed on the tops of the adobe houses and behind the 
corrals. Captain Coopwood's company was mounted. 
Tlie citizens posted themselves on the top of the houses, 
on the principal streets, prepared to render assistance. 

The Federal troops advanced to within five hundred 
yards of tlie Confederates' position and halted, and 
formed in line of battle, with two howitzers in the cen- 
tre and the infantry, and on the wings cavalry, the whole 
force appearing to be about five hundred men. A flag 
of truce was then sent to the rebels, with the demand to 
surrender the town unconditionally. The reply was, 
" that if they wished the town, to come and take it." 
They unmasked their guns, and commenced firing bombs 
and grape into a town crowded with women and chil- 
dren, without having, in accordance with an invariable 
rule of civilized warfare, given notice to remove the 
women and children to a place of safety. Several shells 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 319 

were thrown in different parts of the town, fortunately 
without doing any injury to a single individual. 

After firing a couple of rounds at the more advanced 
position of the rebels, the cavalry made a charge and 
advanced to within three hundred yards of a corral behind 
which a company under Captain Hardeman were sta- 
tioned. From forty to sixty shots were "fired by this 
company, killing four and wounding four of the Federals, 
throwing them into confusion, and finally into retreat, 
their officers vainly trying to rally them. Captain Coop- 
wood's company had been continually deploying among 
the houses and corrals, first appearing mounted and then 
on foot, and in many different directions. This and other 
movements, and the appearance of men both far and near, 
at so many points, succeeded in deceiving the Unionists, 
as to the real force of the enemy. Tlie order to charge 
was given four times, but to no purpose ; they were dis- 
heartened by their ill success, and as night was fallmg 
they withdrew in good order in the direction of Fort 
Fillmore, carrying with them the dead and wounded. 

At one o'clock on the following morning. Major Lynde 
evacuated Fort Fillmore, with all his command, pre- 
viously destroying much valuable property and muni- 
tions of war. The soldiers destroyed much of their com- 
pany property, muskets, clothing, a blacksmith's shop, 
bakery, and one of the quartermaster's store-rooms. 
The hospital stores, medicine, and furniture were most 
completely broke up, and nearly all the arms and a large 
quantity of ammunition were destroyed. A great deal 
of valuable commissary stores and other property were 
unharmed, to the amount of several thousand dollars. 

The United States troops retreated in the direction of 
Fort Staunton, and were seen by the rebel scouts imme- 
diately after daylight, eight or ten miles east of Los 
Cruces, in the mountains. The whole command of Con- 
federate troops were ordered in pursuit, and crowded on 



320 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

in full chase after the fugitives. The road lay over the 
table-lands and mountains to a pass in the Organos chain, 
by the way of San Augustin^'Springs, over a route where 
there was no water, and the day was excessirely warm. 

The six miles to the Springs was a succession of 
charges ; men were taken prisoners, and disarmed in 
squads ; the artillery was captured, and the greater por- 
tion of the infantry were taken before the main command 
was reached. 

Major Lynde was encamped near the San Augustine 
Springs, and had still some four hundred men with him, 
who formed in battle array on the appearance of the Con- 
federate troops. Advance was made to charge on tliem 
by the Confederates, and they had reached within three 
hundred yards, with eager spirits for the fray, when a 
flag of truce was raised by the United States column, 
desiring to know on what conditions their commander 
would receive a surrender. The reply was, an uncon- 
ditional surrender, — the same terms they had endeav- 
ored to dictate to the Confederate forces. This was 
sought to be modified by the United States commander, 
which request was refused, further than that tliey would 
be allowed two hours to remove their women and children 
to a place of safety. The United States commander 
finally agreed to an unconditional surrender. 

In brief, during this day, eleven companies of United 
States regular troops, mounted and foot, mustering seven 
hundred effective men, surrendered to two hundred and 
eighty Confederates, four pieces of cannon, arms, equip- 
ments, two hundred cavalry horses, mules and wagons, 
and two hundred and seventy head of beef cattle. 

August 5. Galveston bombarded, — not much damage 
done. 

Skirmish at Athens, Missouri. 

A band of one thousand Confederates, led by a brother 
of ex-Senator Green, attacked a camp of Union men at 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 321 

Athens, a small town in the extreme northeast of Mis- 
souri, on the Des Moines river, about thirty miles from 
Keokuk, about five o'clock in the morning. There was 
a considerable amount of arms and ammunition stored 
in the camp, which comprised three hundred and fifty 
men, under Captain Moore. The fighting lasted about 
an hour, when the rebels retreated, leaving six dead on 
the field. Captain Moore was reinforced by a hundred 
and fifty men, and pursued them a mile and a half, killing 
one, taking eighteen prisoners, thirty horses, and two 
flags. Three Union men were killed and eight wounded. 

August 7. The village of Hampton, Va., burned. 

On the 2d of August, General Magruder left Yorktown 
with a force of seven thousand men, including two hun- 
dred cavalry and eight pieces of artillery, namely, three 
Parrott guns, four howitzers, and one rifled cannon, and 
proceeded to Great Bethel — which place had been com- 
pletely deserted — where they encamped for the night, and 
the next day advanced toward Hampton, and took a posi- 
tion on Back River, some three miles from the town. 
Undoubtedly the object of the expedition was to draw out 
the Federal forces, attack Camp Hamilton or Newport 
News if practicable, and at least to destroy Hampton, so 
as to prevent its being used by the Federals for winter- 
quarters. 

A deserter from the Confederates arrived at Fortress 
Monroe, and gave information of the approach of Magru- 
der, when General Butler at once repaired to Hampton 
Bridge, where he remained until eleven o'clock. Colonel 
Weber erected a barricade near the Hampton end of the 
bridge, and placed a strong guard at various points. 

A few minutes past midnight, General Magruder, with 
about five hundred Confederates — some of them belong- 
ing in Hampton — entered the town, and immediately 
fired the buildings with torches. A greater part of the five 
hundred houses were built of wood, and no rain having 



322 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

fallen lately, the strong south wind soon produced a ter- 
rible conflagration. Tliere were perhaps twenty white 
people, and double that number of negroes, remaining in 
the town from inability to move. Several of the whites, 
and also of the negroes, were hurried away to be pressed 
into the Confederate service. Two negroes were drowned 
while attempting to cross the creek. A company of 
rebels attempted to force the passage of the bridge, but 
were repulsed with a loss of three killed and six wounded. 

The fire raged all night. The greater part of the Con- 
federates witlidrew toward morning, and at noon but 
seven or eight buildings were left standing. 

August 10. Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri. 

After General Lyon's successful engagement at Dug 
Spring, he returned to Springfield to prepare for an effec- 
tive defence of that city, apprehending an immediate 
attack by the Confederates. On the 7th of August, the 
Confederate Generals Price, McCulloch, and Pierce, 
decided to march upon Springfield, and attack the Fed- 
erals wliere they had taken position in force. General 
McCulloch had received a general order from General 
Polk, commander of the southwestern division of the 
Confederate army, to advance into Missouri. He imme- 
diately held a consultation with the officers of the two 
divisions, and offered to march at once upon Springfield, 
upon condition that he should have the chief command 
of the army. General Price replied that he was not 
fighting for distinction, and that it mattered but little 
what position he occupied ; that he was ready to surren- 
der not only the command, but his life as a sacrifice to 
the cause. He accordingly did not hesitate, but turned 
over tlie command to General McCulloch, and took a 
subordinate position. On taking command. General 
McCulloch issued a general order, that all the unarmed 
men should remain in camp, and all those furnished with 
arms should get their guns in condition for service, pro- 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 323 



vide themselves with fifty rounds of ammunition, and 
get in readiness to take up the line of march by twelve 
o'clock at night. The army was divided into three 
columns, the first commanded by General McCulloch, 
the second by General Pierce, and the third by General 
Price. They took up the line of march at the hour 
named, leaving the baggage-train behind, and proceeded 
in the direction of Springfield. They encamped on the 
night of the 8th at Big Spring, one mile and a half from 
Wilson's Creek, and ten miles and a half south of Spring- 
field. Their baggage-trains having been left behind, and 
their beef cattle also, the troops had not eaten any thing 
for twenty-four hours, and had been supplied with only 
half rations for ten days previous. In this exigency, 
they satisfied the cravings of hunger by eating green 
corn, without a particle of salt or a mouthful of meat. 
The wardrobe of the soldiers on that night was thus 
humorously described by one of the number : " We had 
not a blanket, not a tent, nor any clothes except the few 
we had on our backs, and four-fifths of us were bare- 
footed. Billy Barlow's dress at a circus would be decent 
in comparison to that of almost any one of us, from the 
major-general down to the humblest private." 

On the next day they moved on to Wilson's Creek, 
and there took up camp, in the vicinity of several large 
coriifields, from which they could supply themselves 
with green corn, which for two days had constituted their 

only repast. 

Orders were issued by General McCulloch to the troops 
to get ready to take up the line of march to Springfield 
by nine o'clock p. m., with a view of attacking the Union 
forces at four different points, at daybreak the next 
morning. His efiective force, as stated by himself, was 
five thousand three hundred infantry, fifteen pieces of 
artillery, and six thousand horsemen, armed with flint- 
lock muskets, rifles and shot-guns. 



324 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

After receiving orders to march, the troops prepared 
their guns and ammunition, and got up a dance in front 
of each of the camp fires. When nine o'clock came, in 
consequence of the threatening appearance of the wea- 
ther, and the want of cartridge-boxes to protect the 
ammunition, the order to march was countermanded, 
and the dance before the camp fires was resumed, and 
kept up until a late hour. 

The same mind seemed to actuate the two generals, 
McCulloch and Lyon, with regard to an onward move- 
ment, for both had given orders to march at the same 
Iwur, and unknown to each other, and only through fear 
that their ammunition would be rendered useless by the 
dampness of the night, the Confederate army would have 
proceeded on their march at the hour appointed, and 
consequently would have met General Lyon about mid- 
way from Springfield to Wilson's Creek ; but as it was, 
while the Cherokee portion of McCulloch's army were 
regaling themselves on the eve of battle, in the mazy 
dance around the camp fires, the Union army under 
General Lyon, eight thousand strong, marched out of 
Springfield in the direction of Wilson's Creek, to give 
them battle. They marched a portion of the night until 
they arrived in the vicinity of the Confederate camp, 
nine miles southwest of Springfield, when they laid them- 
selves down on the prairie and slept on their arms. The 
nest morning (the 10th), at half-past six o'clock, the 
attack was made in two columns by Generals Lyon and 
Sturges, General Sigel leading a flanking force of about 
one thousand men and four guns, on the south of the 
enemy's camp. 

General Lyon fired the first gun, when the battle im- 
mediately begun. Severe cannonading was kept up for 
two or three hours. The rebels in overwhelming force 
charged Captain Totten's Battery three distinct times, 
but were repulsed with great slaughter. Finally, the 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 325 

artillery fire proving too severe, they gradually fell back 
toward their encampment on Wilson's Creek. General 
Lyon's cavalry, posted on the enemy's left flank, and 
General Sigel's artillery on the right, kept up a terrific 
fire, and spread slaughter and dismay in the ranks of the 
Confederates. 

General Sigel attacked the rebels from the southeast, 
as soui as he heard firing from General Lyon's comman(J, 
and drove them back half a mile, taking possession of 
their camp, which extended westward to the Payetteville 
road. Here a terrible fire was poured into his ranks by 
a regiment which he had permitted to advance within a 
few paces of him, supposing it to be the Iowa Fii'st. His 
men scattered considerably, and Colonel Solomon's regi- 
ment could not be rallied. 

A Louisiana regiment and a Mississippi regiment 
seemed to have suffered most in the fight, and were 
almost annihilated. The enemy's camp extended along 
Wilson's Creek about three miles, enclosed by high 
ground on each side, upon which the greater part of the 
engagement was fought. 

The summit of the hill was covered with the dead and 
the wounded ; both sides were fighting with desperation 
for the field ; masses of infantry fell back, and again 
rushed forward, and a terrible fire of musketry was kept 
up along the whole line of the hill. At this critical 
moment, when the fortunes of the day seemed to be at 
the turning point, as General Lyon was leading on his 
column, his horse was shot from under him. He imme- 
diately mounted another, and as he turned around to his 
men, waving his hat in his hand and cheering them on 
to victory, he received a bullet in the left breast, and fell 
from his horse. He was asked if he was hurt, and replied, 
" No, not much ; " but in a few minutes he expired with- 
out a struggle. 

The command then devolved on General Sigel, and 

28 



326 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

the engagement became terrific in the extreme, and, 
probably, says General McCullocli in his official report, 
" no two opposing forces ever fought with greater despe- 
ration." The incessant roll of musketry was deafening, 
and the balls fell thick as hailstones. Totten's Battery 
fell back, Sigel's artillery horses were shot in their har- 
ness, and the pieces disabled ; he endeavored to haul 
them off with a number of prisoners he had taken, and 
finally succeeded in retreating with three of them, 
spiking one and leaving it on the field. About one 
o'clock the Confederates seemed to be in great disorder 
and retreating, the Federal troops retreating in the oppo- 
site direction, being too much fatigued and cut up to 
pursue. 

The battle lasted six hours ; the troops on both sides 
fought valiantly, but without any advantage or victory on 
either side ; the Federals repulsed the enemy, but after- 
wards retreated to Springfield, and from thence to Rolla, 
so the battle may be considered a drawn one. 

General Sigel arrived at Springfield with his command 
at three o'clock on Monday morning, the 11th, and con- 
tinued his retreat upon Eolla, bringing off" his baggage- 
trains and two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in 
specie from the Springfield Bank, which had previously 
been given in charge of General Lyon for safe keeping, 
anticipating an attack on Springfield. The following is 
the official report of Major-General Fremont, commanding 
the Department of the West : — 



Head-Quarters, Western Department 
St. Louis, August 13, 1861. 



■} 



Colonel E. D. Townsend, — General Lyon, in three 
columns under himself, Generals Sigel and Sturges, at- 
tacked the enemy at half-past six o'clock on the morning 
of the 10th, nine miles southwest of Springfield. The 
engao-ement was severe. Our loss was about eight hun- 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 327 

dred killed aud wounded. General Lyon was killed in 
a charge at the head of his column. Our force was eight 
thousand, including two thousand Home Guards. The 
muster roll reported taken from the enemy gives their 
forces at twenty-three thousand, including regiments from 
Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi, with the Texan 
Rangers and Cherokee half-breeds. This statement is 
corroborated by prisoners. Their loss is reported as 
heavy, including Generals McCulloch and Price. Their 
tents and wagons were destroyed in the action. Gen- 
eral Sigel left one gun on the field, and retreated to 
Springfield, whence, at three o'clock on the morning of 
the 11th, he continued his retreat on Rolla, bringing off 
his baggage-trains and $250,000 in specie from the 
Springfield Bank. 

J. C. Fremont, 
Major- General Commanding. 

The Union loss was 263 killed and 721 wounded ; the 
Confederate loss, McCulloch's report, 265 killed, 800 
wounded, and 80 missing. 

When the news reached Springfield that Sigel was 
retreating, a terrible panic seized the people, which 
exceeded any thing in modern times. No one who was 
not an eye-witness can form any correct idea of it. "When 
the army arrived at Springfield, after the battle, it was 
determined to retreat to Rolla, in order to save the 
baggage-train, which was said to be worth a million and 
a half of dollars. Accordingly, orders were given to that 
effect, and the march was commenced at about three 
o'clock A. M., the large baggage-train moving off in 
advance, wliile the main army was kept in the rear for 
defence. By daylight tlie whole army, Home Guards, 
citizens, families, etc., had left the place, leaving the 
heretofore populous little city of Springfield almost with- 
out inhabitants. The march was continued during the 



328 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

entire day, making about twenty-five miles. And when 
night came on, and not being able to reach a suitable 
place for encampment, a halt was made on the road-side 
till next morning. The next day the march was con- 
tinued five miles to the Meango, when the army en- 
camped, and remainc(i till the next day. Here, refresh- 
ments were taken in the way of a meal for the first time 
after the battle on Saturday, making some three days, or 
nearly so. The next day (Tuesday) the line of march 
was taken up, and the train arriving at Lebanon about 
noon, halted two or three hours. In the evening the 
train moved forward some seven miles, and encamped for 
the night, and on the next day arrived at Rolla, a distance 
of about eighty miles. 

The army and the train were quite an imposing spec- 
tacle, consisting of several hundred wagons, about five 
thousand troops, two thousand five hundred Home 
Guards, many citizens, together with a large number of 
families, in wagons, buggies, stage-coaches, etc., running 
the entire number up to near ten thousand. But few, 
if any, such spectacles have been witnessed. The crowd 
was composed of persons of all ages and conditions of 
life. There was the judge, the attorney, the merchant, 
the doctor, the minister, the farmer, the mechanic, and 
those of every other occupation and calling, — all having 
left their homes, leaving most of their interests behind, to 
fall into the hands of men who had shown themselves to 
be capable of almost any thing that human depravity 
might prompt. To one not interested in the affair, it was 
evidently an affecting scene. 

Some had their families in wagons carrying what little 
of their efiects they could, and driving their stock, horses, 
cattle, and sheep ; others, unable to bring their families, 
had left them to the mercy of the rebels. Some had a 
little money in their pockets, but many, and perhaps most 
of them, had not a red cent. Some had a change of 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 329 

raiment, others had none. It was truly a deplorable 
state of afifairs, and what rendered it harder to submit to 
was -the universal belief that had General Lyon been rein- 
forced with a few thousand men, instead of Union men 
having to flee for safety, the invaders would have been 
defeated and driven from the soil of Missouri ; but, as it 
was, all the despatches sent to Washington, imploring 
reinforcements, were disregarded. Mr. Cameron had 
too much to attend to at home, consequently could not 
attend to things so far away, hence the result. 

The death of General Lyon was a serious loss to the 
Federals in Missouri. He was an able and efiScient man 
— a man of the times, who appreciated the force of quick 
decision in a revolutionary war. To military education 
and talents he united a rare energy and promptitude ; no 
doubts or scruples unsettled his mind. He was tempo- 
rarily interred at Springfield, and a few days afterwards 
was disinterred and sent to St. Louis, and from thence to 
his relatives at Eastford, Connecticut. 

Shortly after the battle the Confederate army returned 
to the frontier of Arkansas, Generals McCulloch and 
Price having failed to agree upon the plan of campaign 
in Missouri. 

August 12. The Hon. Charles J. Faulkner, late United 
States Minister to France, was arrested by orders from 
the War Department, and confined in jail, on the charge 
of treason, based on conclusive evidence received of his 
successful efforts to procure arms in Europe for the use 
of the rebels, and the fact that he was going home to his 
native State, Virginia, to assume command of a regiment 
of Confederates, who had elected him colonel. 

Returned prisoners. 

A company of ten Union soldiers, belonging respect- 
ively to the First and Second Rhode Island, First and 
Second Connecticut, and the New York Sixty-ninth and 
Seventy-ninth regiments, who were taken prisoners at 

28* 



330 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Bull Run, were unconditiont>"!ly released and sent home, 
for kind treatment on the field of' battle to Colonel 
Gardiner, of Georgia, and other Confederate soldiers, in 
accordance with a promise made by Colonel Gardiner on 
the battle-field. They were accompanied by twenty-one 
other prisoners, belonging to different regiments, who 
were released on their parole of honor, and among them 
were ten surgeons who remained at Sudley's Church 
after the battle, attending to the wounded, and were 
captured. They remained, some at Bull Run and others 
at Manassas Junction, attending upon the wounded, for 
two weeks after the battle, and were then sent to 
Richmond. Finally they were released on parole-, and 
sent to Fortress Monroe, under a flag of truce, by way 
of Norfolk. 

The following is a copy of their obligations : 

" We, the undersigned, non-commissioned officers, 
privates, and citizens of the United States, do make our 
unqualified parole of honor, that we will not by arms, 
information, or otherwise, during existing hostilities, aid 
or abet the enemies of the Confederate States, until 
released or exchanged. 

" Witness, .W. H. Winder, Brigadier-General C. S. A., 
August 11th." 

An important personage among the returning prisoners 
was a Mrs. Curtis, who was captured a day or two after 
the battle, while riding near Falls Church, in company 
with a young lady, a native of Virginia, at whose house 
she was stopping, and who was not captured. Mrs. Cur- 
tis was taken to Falls Church, where she was formally 
introduced to Colonel Stuart, of the First Virginia Cav- 
alry, who asked her if she was the colonel of the regi- 
ment. She did not feel disposed to answer, and he 
explained his question by saying that she had a spread 
eagle on the bridle-bits of the horse she was riding, — 
the trappings belonged to one of the officers of the New 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 331 

York Thirteenth, though the horse was one which had 
been taken from the rebels at Bull Run. She was sent 
to Richmond as a spy, but released and returned home 
on the 12th of August. 

Skirmish near Grafton. 

A severe skirmish took place a few miles from Grafton, 
Ya., on the Fairmount and Webster road. Information 
having been received that a secretly organized body of 
rebels living in that county were lodged within a few 
miles of Webster, General Kelly despatched Captain Day- 
ton, of Company A, Fourth Yirginia regiment, with fifty 
men, from Webster to disarm them. After scouting nearly 
twenty-four hours, he came suddenly on them at noon, 
and after an hour's severe fighting succeeded in killing 
twenty-one and putting the others to flight, without any 
loss to his command. The rebels numbered two hundred, 
and were composed of some of the worst characters of the 
county, led on by Zack Cochran, sheriff of the county 
under the Letcher rule. 

August 14. The Seventy-ninth New York regiment 
(Highlanders) mutinied at Washington on account of 
being ordered to join Sickles' Brigade. This regiment, it 
appears, had from the beginning entertained the idea that 
" luck," as the soldiers call it, was against them. When 
they came to Washington, it was with a feeling of dis- 
satisfaction with their officers, considering a large pro- 
portion of them utterly unfit for the responsible positions 
they had assumed. They at last succeeded in securing 
the acceptance of the colonelcy by the late Colonel Cam- 
eron, who, though possessing undaunted courage and 
restless industry, was yet wanting in military experience 
of the present service. He did much to discipline and 
encourage the men, but it was up-hill work, — though 
probably better material for a regiment never stood in 
line. At the battle of Bull Run occurred the death of 
Colonel Cameron, and the deaths of several of its best 



332 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

officers. These casualties, and the calamity that some of 
the surviving officers lacked not only military experience, 
but personal courage, rapidly demoralized the regiment, 
and rendered it unfit for service in the field. The men be- 
came dissatisfied, restless, and dispirited. They were 
promised the privilege of going home to recruit, and to 
afford them an opportunity of choosing trusty and 
efficient officers. 

When they were ordered, therefore, to join the Sickles 
Brigade, across the east branch of the Potomac, they 
naturally felt that the order was in violation of assurances 
which had been given of an opportunity to recruit and 
prepare for the coming campaign. 

The depth of the feeling was evidenced in the impul- 
siveness with which a portion of the men " charged bay- 
onets" upon Mr. Sickles when he endeavored to address 
tJiem. 

It is more than probable that the promises made to the 
men were never authorized by the Department, but given 
by the sub-officers as a temporary peace offering, when 
the regiment was smarting under the repulse from Bull 
Run, and the succeeding neglect and suffering conse- 
quent from indifferent or incompetent officers. 

It now became one of the first and most important 
duties of General McClellan, in his new position, to 
enforce obedience to his orders. When it became evi- 
dent that the regiment was determined not to obey the 
directions given for its movements, an order was prepared 
that it should be formed in square, commanded to sur- 
render its arms, and to march as directed. This was 
taken to be signed by General Scott, who, reading it over, 
asked, " What was to be done if the regiment disobeyed the 
order." " I have the means of enforcing it," was the 
specific answer made by McClellan. The order was signed, 
and was enforced. The regiment was restored to disci- 
pline, and the principal actors in the movement punished. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 333 

"While these scenes were being enacted in Washing- 
ton, and the people of Springfield, Mo., and the adjoining 
counties were fleeing in all directions for safety from the 
advancing Confederates, General Fremont, at St. Louis, 
proclaimed the long-looked-for martial law, which tended 
to reassure the people, and, for a brief period at least, 
to silence outspoken secessionists : 

Head-Quarters, Western Department, ) 

St. Louis, August 14, 1861. | 

I hereby declare and establish martial law in the city 
and county of St. Louis. Major J. McKinstry, United 
States Army, is appointed Provost Marshal. All orders 
and regulations issued by him will be respected and 
obeyed accordingly. 

(Signed) J. C. Fremont, 

Major- General Commanding. 

August 15. Jefferson Davis issued a proclamation, 
ordering all Northern men to leave the South in forty 
days, or receive the treatment of alien enemies. The 
following is a copy verbatim : 

PROCLAMATION OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. 

Whereas, The Congress of the Confederate States of 
America did, by an act, approved on the 8th day of 
August, 1861, entitled " An Act respecting Alien Ene- 
mies," make provision that proclamation should be issued 
by the President in relation to alien enemies, and in con- 
formity with the provisions of said act : 

Now, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the 
Confederate States of America, do issue this my pro- 
clamation ; and I do hereby warn and require every 
male citizen of the United States, of the age of fourteen 
years and upwards, now within the Confederate States, 
and adhering to the Government of the United States, 



334 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

and acknowledging the authority of the same, and not 
being a citizen of the Confederate States, to depart 
from the Confederate States within forty days from the 
date of this proclamation. And I do warn all persons 
above described, who shall remain within the Confeder- 
ate States after the expiration of said period of forty 
days, that they will be treated as alien enemies. 

Provided, however, That this proclamation shall not be 
considered as applicable, during the existing war, to citi- 
zens of the United States residing within the Confederate 
States with intent to become citizens thereof, and who 
shall make a declaration of such intention in due form, 
acknowledging the authority of this government ; nor 
shall this proclamation be considered as extending to the 
States of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, the 
District of Columbia, the Territories of Arizona and New 
Mexico, and the Indian Territory south of Kansas, who 
shall not be chargeable with actual hostility, or other crime, 
against the public safety, and who shall acknowledge the 
authority of the Government of the Confederate States. 

And I do further proclaim and make known that I 
have established the rules and regulations hereto annexed 
in accordance with the provisions of said law. 

Given under my hand, and the seal of the Confederate 
States of America, at the city of Richmond, on this 14th 
day of August, a. D. 1861. 

[seal.] Jefferson Davis. 

By the President, 
R. M. T. Hunter, Secretary of State. 

August 16. In view of the utter disregard of Presi- 
dent Lincoln's Proclamation, issued on the 15th of April, 
commanding the rebels to return to their allegiance 
within a specified time, the President issued a proclama- 
tion declaring the inhabitants of the States of Georgia, 
South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 335 

Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and 
Florida (except the inhabitants of that part of the State 
of Virginia lying west of the lUleghany Mountains, and 
of such other parts of the State and of other States as 
may maintain a loyal adhesion to the Union and the 
Constitution), to be in a state of insurrection against the 
United States, and that all commercial intercourse be- 
tween the rebellious States and other parts of the United 
States is unlawftil, and will continue so to be until such 
insurrection shall cease, or sball have been suppressed ; 
that all goods and chattels, wares and merchandise, com- 
ing from any of said States, with the exceptions afore- 
said, into other parts of the United States, without the 
special license and permission of the President, through 
the Secretary of the Treasury, or proceeding to any of 
said States, with the exceptions aforesaid, by land or 
water, together with the vessel or vehicle convey- 
ing the same, or conveying persons to or from said 
States, with said exceptions, will be forfeited to the 
United States ; and that from and after fifteen days from 
the issuing of this proclamation, all ships and vessels 
belonging in whole or in part to any citizen or inhabitant 
of any of said States, with said exceptions, found at sea, 
or in any port of the United States, will be forfeited to 
the United States, leaving any party who may think him- 
self aggrieved thereby to his application to the Secretary 
of the Treasury for the remission of any penalty or for- 
feiture, which the said Secretary is authorized by law to 
grant if, in his judgment, the special circumstances of 
any case shall require such remission. 

Newspapers suppressed. 

The New York daily and weekly Journal of Commerce, 
the daily and weekly News, the daily and weekly Day- 
book, the FreemarCs Journal, all published in the city of 
New York, and the daily and weekly Eagle, published in 
the city of Brooklyn, were presented to the United States 



336 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Circuit Court by the Grand Jury, on the charge of encour- 
aging the rebels in arms against the government, by ex- 
pressing sympathy and agreement with them and dissatis- 
faction with the employment of force to overcome them. 
, General "Wool took command at Fortress Monroe, 
relieving General Butler. 

Skirmish on the Potomac. Matthias Point is again the 
scene of another terrible tragedy, and again the navy 
yard at Washington receives its dead. On the afternoon 
of the 16th, at about half-past one o'clock, the steamer 
Resolute was ordered from Acquia Creek to Matthias 
Point for the purpose of reconnoitring. Seeing a batteau 
filled with barrels just below the point, a boat was sent 
from the Resolute with six men to bring off the batteau. 
No sooner had the boat touched the beach, than a volley 
of musket balls was opened upon her from a secession 
force concealed in the woods, killing three of the men 
instantly. 

Another volley was fired by the enemy as they moved 
their position, or as soon as they had time to reload. 

The Resolute was about seven hundred yards from the 
shore, and fired into the midst of the rebels one shot 
of canister and nine of shrapnell. 

The scene on board the small boat is described as heart- 
sickening — the dead lying outstretched in it, covered 
with their own blood. 

The boat was towed a short distance from shore by one 
of the crew named Sanderson, who quietly stepped into 
the water for that purpose, and thus concealed himself 
from the enemy. 

The other uninjured man lay in the boat, stupefied by 
the sad scene through which he had just passed, while 
the wounded man helped Sanderson to row the boat 
toward the Resolute, from which assistance was imme- 
diately rendered. 

The Resolute reached the navy yard at eleven o'clock 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 337 

at niglit, bringing the dead and the wounded man, who 
was sent to the hospital. 

August 19. A battle took place at twelve o'clock at 
night at Charleston, Mo., between the National forces, 
about three hundred strong — consisting of the Twenty- 
second Illinois regiment, under command of Colonel 
Dougherty, accompanied by Lieutenant-colonel Ransom, 
of the Eleventh Illinois Regiment — and a rebel force esti- 
mated at six to seven hundred men, and commanded by 
Colonel Hunter, of Jeff. Thompson's army. 

Information having been received that the enemy were 
assembled in considerable force at Charleston, Captain 
Abbott and a portion of his command were sent out in 
the fore part of the day for the purpose of reconnoisance, 
and also to prevent the enemy from burning the trestle- 
work on the railroad near Charleston. He encamped 
witliin one mile and a half of the town, and passed the 
day in observation, and occasionally chasing the enemy's 
cavalry, who were scouting about the country in squads. 
They succeeded in informing themselves as to his strength, 
and returned to their camp, evidently contemplating an 
easy time in bagging him when night should come. 
About nine o'clock at night the train arrived with six 
companies — about three hundred men — under com- 
mand of Colonel Dougherty. He was informed by Cap- 
tain Abbott that the enemy's strength at Charleston was 
one thousand, and also that he had received reliable 
information that they would make an attack upon him 
that night. 

" We are going to take Charleston to-night," replied 
Colonel Dougherty. " You stay here, and engage the 
enemy until we come back ; we shall not be gone long. 
Battalion, right face, forward march ! " And on went 
Company E ahead. Company A next, and so on. " Double 
quick ! " was given, and the two front companies only 
responded. 

29 



338 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Arriving at the suburbs of the town, it was ascertained 
for the first time that the four rear companies were 
detached, which occasioned a few minutes' delay, and 
then the advance was ordered forward without tliem, and 
were fired upon by the Confederate pickets ; but they 
drove them in, dispersing the cavah-y, capturing twenty- 
one horses, and rushed on, the bullets whistling around 
them like hail ; still they charged furiously onward, 
Colonel Dougherty, Captain McAdams, and Captain 
Johnson, as leaders. Companies A and E - — one hundred 
and twenty-five men — alone engaged the whole force. 
At the court house the enemy made a stand. Here Lieu- 
tenant-colonel Ransom, of the Eleventh Illinois, who 
had volunteered to accompany the expedition, inquired 
of Colonel Dougherty what should be done next. " Take 
that court house or bust ! " was the emphatic answer. 

And they did take it. Those who did not escape from 
the windows were killed or taken prisoners, and when 
the Federals emerged again from the house, the enemy 
were to be seen fleeing in the dim distance. The Federals 
retraced their steps to the railroad, where they met the 
detached portion of the regiment, under Lieutenant-colo- 
nel Hartt. They had passed straightforward, without 
turning ofif, and having fallen in with the flying enemy, 
attacked them and killed sixteen. All now returned to 
Captain Abbott's encampment, with twenty-one horses 
and eighteen prisoners, having been less than two hours 
absent. Here Captain Jackson was ordered to remain 
with his command, and the rest seated themselves upon 
the cars, and moved back to Bird's Point, which they 
reached without accident. In that midnight encounter 
there were some fearful contests, some hand-to-hand 
fighting ; and when the rising moon dispelled the dark- 
ness of the night, it shone upon ghastly faces, begrimed 
with blood, upon contending armies, upon strong men in 
the agonies of death, and that solemn hour which divides 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 339 

the two days was to them the dividing line between this 
world and the world of spirits — the portal of eternity. 
The Confederates were impaled upon the bayonet, pulled 
from their horses, knocked over with the butt of the gun 
or of the pistol, and so bold and impetuous was every 
movement with the Federals, that they fled in confusion, 
with the loss of forty killed and eighteen taken prisoners. 
Union loss, one killed, and six wounded. A captured 
lieutenant informed the Federal officers that General 
Pillow was in the neighborhood, and would call upon 
them in a few days with twenty-thousand men ; that he 
had promised they should take breakfast in Cairo that 
morning. The Confederate forces at Charleston and 
throughout the State of Missouri were composed princi- 
pally of backwoodsmen, uneducated, but honest and 
sincere, and had taken up arms against the Government 
through the misrepresentations of designing men. 

August 20. Mayor Berrett, of Washington, was arrest- 
ed on a charge of disloyalty and sent to Fort Lafayette, 
New York, but on the twelfth of September was released 
by taking the oath of allegiance to the Government. 

Many other arrests were also made at "Washington, 
and other places in the free States, for disloyalty to the 
Government, uttering treasonable sentiments, etc., and 
among them several ladies. 

August 26. Skirmish at Summerville. About fifty 
miles east of Charleston, Va., the central position of the 
Kanawha Valley, and up the Gauley River about twenty- 
five miles from Gauley Bridge, is Summerville, the 
county seat of Nicholas county. Here the Seventh Oliio 
regiment, under Colonel Tyler, was posted, and here, 
on the 21st, a slight skirmish took place between a de- 
tachment of fourteen men belonging to Company K and 
a reconnoitring party of the Richmond Blues, in which 
two of the Federals were killed, five wounded and taken 
prisoners, and four slightly wounded who made their 



340 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

escape. Shortly after, Colonel Tyler with his command 
left Summerville (or, as it is called by some. Cross 
Lanes, where Tyler was encamped) hastily, in obedience 
to an order from General Cox, and made a forced march 
of eighteen miles, joining Cox at the mouth of Twenty- 
Mile Creek, six miles above Gauley Bridge. The cause 
of this sudden movement was the rapid concentration of 
the enemy under Floyd in the neighborhood of Gauley 
Bridge, and it seemed necessary to concentrate the 
National forces in order to oppose them. General Lor- 
ing, of the Confederates, had been ordered to move with 
his forces from the Big Spring, in the direction of Hut- 
tonsville, around the Cheat Mountain, while General 
Jackson was to advance toward the Cheat Mountain, and 
thus block the progress of Rosecrans eastward, while 
General Floyd, with his brigade, was to make the advance 
from a point ten miles west of Lewisburgh. 

After a hasty consultation between Colonel Tyler and 
General Cox, it was concluded best that the Seventh 
JSegiment should return to Cross Lanes, which they did 
^n the twenty-fourth ; and on the morning of the twenty- 
uxth, while Colonel Tyler and his command were quietly 
oartaking of their breakfast, they were surrounded and 
attacked on both flanks and in front simultaneously by 
Floyd's Brigade, consisting of three thousand infantry, 
four hundred cavalry, and ten guns. The Union men 
immediately formed for battle, and fought bravely, wliile 
they saw but little chance of success. The eneniy prov- 
ing too powerful. Colonel Tyler sent forward to the 
baggage train, which was coming up three miles distant, 
and turned it back toward Gauley Bridge, which place 
it reached in safety. Companies B, C, and I suifered 
most severely. They, particularly, were in tlie hottest 
of the fight, and finally succeeded in cutting their way 
through and scattered, but soon rallied, and, forming 
again, fired upon the Confederates, but received no reply 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



341 



or pursuit from the rebels, whom they left in possession 
of their camp, to rejoice over their success, but their 
rejoicing was somewhat marred by the fact that they had 
not annihilated the whole regiment, as they considered 
the destruction of Colonel Tyler's command but the 
beginning of an onset that should sweep every vestige of 
the Union army out of that part of Virginia. The Union 
loss was fifteen killed, including six officers, and thirty 
wounded. 

August 26. The sailing of the great naval expedition 
under General Butler and Commodore Stringham. 

When General Butler resigned his command at For- 
tress Monroe, in favor of General Wool, the public mind 
was at once exercised and anxious to know the whys 
and wherefores of this movement, and their wondering 
eyes were turned in the direction of Fortress Monroe to 
discover, if possible, what disposition the general would 
make of his talents in future ; but their suspense was of 
short duration, for, on the twenty-sixth of August, ten 
days after his resignation, it was announced that an ex- 
pedition under General Butler had sailed from Old 
Point, consisting of the frigates Minnesota and Wabash, 
the sloop of war Pawnee, gunboats Monticello and Har- 
riet Lane, tlie steamers Adelaide and George Peabody, 
the propellers Fanny and Adriatic, with a large number 
of schooners, barges, etc. The vessels carried over one 
hundred guns, and about four thousand men. 

This somewliat relieved the minds of the curious, but 
then its destination was unknown ; yet they were will- 
ing to believe that someithing good would result from it, 
and a brilliant achievement was expected. 

August 28. The bombardment and surrender of Forts 
Hatteras and Clark. 

The expedition under General Butler steamed out of 
Hampton Roads in fine style. The weather was beauti- 
ful, and the sea smooth. It was about the hour of two 

29* 



342 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

in the afternoon, and the sun shone forth in all the 
splendor of the tropics. The evening drew on, with a 
steady breeze from the southeast. The Monticello took 
the lead, while the Adelaide, not being armed with large 
guns, immediately followed. 

Hitherto the precise nature, extent, and destination 
of the fleet and troops had been kept a profound secret, 
not only from the public, but from those on board the 
stemers, with the exception of a few especially authorized 
to know of its movements. 

They soon passed Cape Henry, though the speed of 
the leading steamer was limited to a certain point, and 
as the night advanced, a mild August moon arose to 
light their passage, while the winds continued to blow 
gently and the waves were smooth. The morning of the 
twenty-seventh found them opposite Cape Hatteras, and 
the Pawnee, Lane, and Peabody in sight ; and as the 
morning advanced, that part of the fleet already ofi" 
Hatteras gathered together, following the Monticello in 
toward shore, when the flag-ship Minnesota, Commodore 
Stringham, and Wabash hove in sight. It was now an- 
nounced to the men on board that their destination was 
Hatteras Inlet, and that their purpose was to destroy 
certain fortifications erected there ; but the day had so 
far advanced, and the ships Fanny and Tempest not 
ha^^ng arrived, it was decided to lie by for the night, 
and carefully complete all their preparations for an 
attack in the morning. All night the sea remained as 
smooth as a summer lake, and the squadron lay silent at 
its post, through all its tedious watches. 

The morning of the twenty-eighth broke clear and 
beautiful, and the Fanny and Tempest having arrived 
the previous evening, the squadron was now all mustered, 
with the exception of the Susqueliannah, soon to arrive. 
Orders were issued for the disembarkation of troops on 
the beach, to the east of Hatteras Inlet. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 343 



It was now discovered that there were two forts and 
one camp at the inlet and vicinity. The first is called 
Eort Hatteras, and the second Fort Clark, after the Gov- 
ernor of North Carolina, while Camp Gwinn is at the 
end of a 'clump of trees near by. 

Tlie landing was effected in the following order, - 
Hawkins on the right ; the Regulars, Union Coast Guard, 
and marines in the centre ; Max Weber on the left. T le 
advance of the ships to effect and protect the landing was 
a splendid sight, -such a one as it was worth gomg 
to see. It was now a little after 8 o'clock. The ships 
steadily and firmly advanced toward the two forts, which 
were in plain sight on the point of Hatteras Inlet, with 
the disunion flag flying on a small staff. _ 

About nine o'clock the Susquehannah arrived, and 
prepared to join the action. The fleet continued to 
ad4nce in battle array, and the most perfect silence 
prevailed; every thing was done by signals from the 
flao--ship. It is a moment big with intensest anxiety, — 
witli hopes and fears, - with rapid thoughts of home and 
friends - of breathless emotions. The entire squadron 
is in the field. Each ship is in her place - slowly, 
steadily, calmly advancing. The morning contmues 
beautiful, and the usually rough sea of Cape Ha teras is 
in perfect calm. It looks as if the finger of the Almighty 
was laid directly on the billows, and had bound them 
into quiet. The flag, embankment, barracks, and tents 
of the fort are now merging into view each moment, and 
the silence is perfectly awful. 

At ten o-clock the following signal appeared on the 
fl-xo-ship, " Prepare to disembark the troops." 

It a quarter past ten the first gun boomed from the 
Susquehannah ; it passed directly over the fm^t but 
elicited no reply. A gun followed from the Waba.h, 
and the sand flies over tlie beach in all directions where 
the .hot strikes. The firing now commenced ■ from ah 



344 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED BTATES. 

the ships in regular order. The Harriet Lane led the 
way ahead of all the rest, her drums beating to quarters, 
the Adelaide, with the troops, following closely at hand. 
The firing now became rapid, and continued for some 
moments, the thunder and boom of cannon, and the 
bursting of the shells in the air over the forts presented 
a startling scene to the thousands who were looking on. 

Another fifteen minutes and General Butler appeared 
on the wheel-house of the Harriet Lane, close by the 
Adelaide, and pointing to the selected spot, shouts the 
commajid, " Land the troops." The preparations now 
went forward with great rapidity ; the men and arms 
were soon made ready and the tows swing for the shore. 
There were no signs of movement in the fort, though it 
had replied with a few guns, all the shot of which fell 
far short ; not a vessel was hit. At eleven o'clock the 
firing had increased with terrible rapidity, and the fort 
replied with great spirit, while the troops were landing 
with artillery in the order proposed. 

At half-past eleven the Susquehannah changed her 
place in the line of battle, and fired a gun that made a 
terrific echo ; her aim was direct, and the result was at 
once seen on the parapets. At twelve o'clock the Min- 
nesota opened her ports from the centre, and the Pawnee 
commenced firing into the woods, where it was supposed 
the secessionists might be lying in ambush to interfere 
with the landing of the forces ; while the Harriet Lane 
and the remainder of the fleet kept up their firing on 
the forts. 

At two o'clock the troops were formed in line on the 
shore, bearing the old *' Stars and Stripes," and from 
that time until five the bombardment continued at inter- 
vals ; and not a vessel had been hit, though the forts had 
fired with the utmost animation. 

At six o'clock the sky, for the first time since the 
sailing of the expedition, began to grow lowering, and 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 345 

fears were entertained that a gale might speedily arise 
and scatter the fleet, but at nine o'clock it was all again 
clear, and the moon appeared in her silvery beauty, and 
the sea continued wonderfully calm, to the astonishment 
of all old sailors in the fleet. On the morning of the 
twenty-ninth, precisely at the hour appointed, the firing 
again commenced. Secession troops had been landed at 
the forts during the night, brought down tlie Sound, and 
the guns were worked with new ardor and skill. The 
firing on the part of the fleet was now at a still better 
range, and the first morning gun of the Susquehannah 
told with a fearful effect. The shells continued explod- 
ing over, around, and directly in the forts, with a fearful 
havoc. The inner fort — Fort Clark — appeared to 
have been silenced, as the flag had disappeared. The 
troops on shore were again moving toward it at double- 
quick. The guns from the outer fort — Hatteras — 
grew faint and few. The whole squadron were firing at 
once. The Monticello, with great courage, advanced far 
beyond any other ship, and poured her fire directly into 
the battery. One of her boats was knocked from the 
davits, and the ship was hit in two places. She reported 
the result of her observations to the flag-ship, and the 
shells exploded now more rapidly than ever directly within 
Fort Hatteras. Fort Clark was silenced. Our troops 
continued to advance along the shore, and the American 
flag was soon waving from the parapets of Fort Clark. 
Fort Hatteras continued to reply to our fire, but at slow 
intervals, and without effect. The Harriet Lane ap- 
proached still nearer, and discharged one of her large 
guns, with destructive results. The Susquehannah then 
plunged a large shell directly into the spot where the 
disunion magazine was found to be, and in a few mo- 
ments a white flag appeared on Fort Hatteras, and it was 
surrendered. 

The Union men were now seen advancina; along from 



846 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Fort Clark, and forming into line, with tlie old Stars 
and Stripes just in front of the " fallen secession flag." 
The victory was won. 

The troops landed on the previous night had heen 
active in various ways on shore, all the day of the battle 
on Thursday. On the appearance of the white flag, 
Captain Nixon, of the Union Coast Guard, entered the 
fort, and was joined by Lieutenant Wiegel, to whom 
Commodore Barron, late of the United States Navy, 
handed the following letter : 

Flag-officer Samuel Barron, C. S. N., offers to surren- 
der Fort Hatteras, with all the arms and munitions 
of war — the officers to go out with side-arms, the men 
without arms to retire. 

(Signed) Samuel Barron, 

Commanding Naval Defences of Virginia and North Carolina. 

To this communication Major-General Butler made 
the following reply : 

Benjamin F. Butler, Major-General Commanding U. 
S. A., in reply to the communication of Samuel Barron, 
commanding forces at Fort Hatteras, cannot admit the 
terras proposed. The terms offered are the full capitu- 
lation, the officers and men to be treated as prisoners of 
war. No other terms admissible. Commanding officers 
to meet on board the flag-ship Minnesota, to arrange 
details. 

(Signed) Benjamin F. Butler, 

Major- General Commanding. 

Commodore Barron, after having called a council of 
war, was authorized to proceed on board the Minnesota, 
in company with Colonel Martin and Major Andrews. 
These gentlemen were accompanied by Captain Crosby, 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES, 347 

U. S. N., and Lieutenant Weigel, of General Butler's 
staff. On consultation on board the flag-ship, the terms 
of General Butler were acceded to by the secessionists. 

General Butler and staff then came on shore, inspected 
the men and fortifications, and at 4 o'clock on Thursday 
p. M., the formal surrender took place. The Fanny, 
Adelaide, and Peabody passed within the inlet, and 
soon the Stars and Stripes waved in triumph at this im- 
portant commercial post. Over seven hundred officers 
and men were captured as prisoners of war ; thirty 
32-pound cannon, and a large quantity of coffee, stores, 
and munitions of war, and several vessels. 

The prisoners were embarked under the direction of 
General Butler, he having passed through their ranks, 
receiving the swords of the officers. He led the way to 
the shore, where the Adelaide received the entire com- 
mand on board. Here they remained at rest during the 
night, having been supplied with refreshments such as 
the facilities of the ship allowed. 

During all the afternoon of Thursday, Dr. Humphrey, 
of the Hawkins Zouaves, accompanied by Dr. C. W. 
Dennison, Chaplain of the United States Hospital at 
Fortress Monroe, did every thing in their power to 
soothe the wounded. Medical relief was afforded in 
every case. Mr. Dennison offered a prayer, while the 
men of the fort gathered round at the tent where 
one of the wounded was supposed to be dying. There 
were at least forty wounded. 

Eleven of the Confederate wounded were taken on 
board of the ship, and several made their escape. Their 
loss in killed is not exactly known, though according to 
Lieutenant Steelwagen's report, five were known to have 
been buried. None of the Union army were killed, but 
about thirty wounded. 

On the morning of the 30th, the prisoners were all 
transferred to the Minnesota, where they were kindly 



348 THE EEBBLLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

received by Commodore Stringham, and conveyed to 
Fortress Monroe, and from thence to New York. 

A feeling of loyalty pervaded the masses of the people 
of North Carolina, and now, when the Federal flag 
floated over the forts, hundreds of men, women, and 
children came to Hatteras Inlet, by land and by boats, 
asking for protection, and taking the oath of allegiance. 

August 30. Fort Morgan, at Ocracoke Inlet, twelve 
miles south of Hatteras, was evacuated by the Confed- 
erates, after they had spiked their guns and destroyed 
their munitions of war. The fort mounted six guns. 

During the month of August privateering was carried 
on with an energy and determination worthy a better 
cause. The Sumter reports capturing fifteen prizes, and 
the privateer Echo reports eleven during the month, 
while the name, even, of the Jeff. Davis has become a 
word of terror to all northern seafaring men. Thus far 
the number of her prizes, and the amount of merchandise 
which she captured, has no parallel since the days of 
the " Saucy Jack^'' but with the characteristic sympathy 
of his prototype, her captain (Cozetter), released sev- 
eral vessels bound north, at the supplications of the 
wives of the masters, which proved conclusively that, 
though a " bold privateer," he was not encased in a 
coat of mail sufficient to " steel " his heart against all 
impressions. 



J 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Methought 
That standard still should sweep ; 
Pour on old lands a new-born day, 
And freight with freedom all the deep. 

September 1. A skirmish took place at Boone Court 
House, Va., which resulted in the total rout of the Con- 
federates, with a loss in killed of thirty, and a large 
number wounded, besides forty taken prisoners. The 
Federals lost none in killed, and but six wounded. They 
took possession of the village and burnt it. 

September 3. Terrible outrage on the Hannibal and 
St. Joseph Railroad ; the Platte River Bridge burnt by 
secessionists. 

The catastrophe occurred at little Platte River Bridge, 
nine miles east of St. Joseph. The bridge was a sub- 
stantial work of one hundred feet span, and about thir- 
ty-five feet above the river. The timbers of the bridge 
had been burned underneath the track until they would 
sustain but little more than their own weight, and the 
fire was then extinguished, leaving the bridge a mere 
shell. The train, bringing eiglity-five to one hundred 
passengers, including women and children, reached the 
river at eleven o'clock at night, and the bridge looking se- 
cure, passed in ; but no sooner had the locomotive meas- 
ured its length upon the bridge, than some forty or fifty 
yards of the structure gave way, precipitating the entire 
train into the abyss below. All the seats in the passenger 
coaches were torn and shoved in front, carrying men, 
women, and children in a promiscuous heap down the 
declivity, and burying them beneath the crushed timber, 

30 349 



350 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

or throwing them out of*the cars through the broken 
sides. Some were mangled by the machinery tearing 
through the timbers, several were caught between planks 
pressing together like a vice. Others were struck by 
parts of the roof as it came down with mighty force. 
Still others were cut with pieces of glass, while wounds, 
and blood, and agony prevailed all over the frightful 
scene, and shrieks of pain were mingled with cries of 
terror. In this the last two cars of the train went down, 
pitching the passengers into the wreck, or throwing them 
into the water, which at this point is about a foot and a 
half in depth. Only three persons were able to afford as- 
sistance to the suffering, the remainder of those who were 
not killed outright being so disabled as to be helpless. 

Seventeen persons were killed. Two hundred yards 
west of the bridge a heavy oak railroad tie was strongly 
strapped across the track, and two miles further on, the 
trestle work over a small stream was on fire, which, 
however, had not become so badly burned that trains 
could not pass over, or that it could not be extinguished ; 
and fifteen miles east of the Platte River, another bridge 
over Smith's Branch was almost entirely burned, and 
still burning, having been fired after the train passed 
west, to prevent assistance being sent from the east. 
Probably the perpetrators of this diabolical act expected 
soldiers would be passing over the road by that train, and 
resorted to this method to despatch them. 

September 6. Occupation of Paducah, Ky. General 
Grant, with two regiments of infantry, one company of 
light artillery, and two gunboats took possession of 
Paducah, Ky. He found secession flags flying in differ- 
ent parts of the city, in expectation of greeting the ar- 
rival of the Southern army, which was reported three 
thousand eight hundred strong, sixteen miles distant. 
The loyal citizens tore down the secession flags on the 
arrival of our troops. 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 351 



General Grant took possession of the telegraph office, 
railroad depot, and the marine hospital. He found 
large quantities of complete rations and leather for the 
Southern army. 

He then issued the following proclamation to the peo- 
ple of Paducah : 

" I have come among you not as an enemy, but as 
your fellow-citizen. Not to maltreat or annoy you, but 
to respect and enforce the rights of all loyal citizens. 

" An enemy in rebelUon against our common govern- 
ment has taken possession of and planted its guns on the 
soil of Kentucky, and fired upon you. Columbus and 
Hickman are in his hands. He is moving upon your 
city. I am here to defend you against this enemy, to 
assist the authority and sovereignty of your Government. 

" I have nothing to do with opinions, and shall deal 
only with armed rebellion and its aiders and abettors. 
You can pursue your usual avocations without fear. 
The strong arm of the Government is here to protect 
its friends and punish its enemies. 

" Whenever it is manifest that you are able to defend 
yourselves, and maintain the authority of the Govern- 
ment, and protect the rights of loyal citizens, I shall 
withdraw the forces under my command. 

« U. S. Grant, 
" Brigadier- General Commanding.'''' 

September 7. General McClellan's Order for the ob- 
servance of the Sabbath was read throughout the entire 
line of his command, and was everywhere received with 
gladness. The Rev. Dr. Thompson gives an account of 
an interview between himself and General McClcllan a 
short time before leaving for the seat of war. As it shows, 
somewhat, the character of the man who had been 
called to take command of the Army of the Potomac, 
perhaps it will not be out of place here. 



352 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

" General McClellan had attended Dr. Thompson's 
Church for six months or more, and had become greatly 
interested in the subject of religion. Just previous to 
his departure for the seat of war, he called upon Dr. 
Thompson for religious conversation and instruction. 
During the interview, by request of Dr. Thompson, they 
kneeled together in prayer. Dr. Thompson prayed, and 
at the conclusion he noticed that the general still re- 
mained kneeling. ' Pray for yourself,' said the pastor, 
placing his hand on the general's shoulder. General 
McClellan then, in an earnest and simple manner, prayed 
for his country, for the success of soldiers who were 
about to go forth to pour out their blood for its salva- 
tion, and for wisdom from on high to lead his men to the 
victory, that the cause of good government might pre- 
vail." 

September 8. Private William Scott, the sleeping 
sentinel, under sentence of death, was pardoned and re- 
turned to duty by the following order : 

Head-Quarters of the Army of the Potomac, ) 

Washington, September 8, 1861. ) 

Private William Scott, of Company K, of the Third 
Regiment of Vermont Volunteers, having been found 
guilty by court-martial of sleeping on his post while a 
sentinel on picket guard, has been sentenced to be shot, 
and the sentence has been approved and ordered to be 
executed. The commanding officers of the brigade, 
the regiment and the company of the condemned, to- 
gether with many other officers and privates of his regi- 
ment, have earnestly appealed to the major-general com- 
manding to spare the life of the offender, and the Pres- 
dent of the United States has expressed a wish that as 
this is the first condemnation to death in this army for 
this crime, mercy may be extended to the criminal. 
This fact, viewed in connection with the inexperience of 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 353 



the condemned as a soldier, his previous good conduct 
and general good character, and the urgent entreaties 
made in his behalf, have determined the Major-General 
Commanding to grant the pardon so earnestly prayed 
for. This act of clemency must not be understood as 
affording a precedent for any future case. The duty of 
a sentinel is of such a nature that its neglect by sleeping 
upon or deserting his post may endanger the safety of a 
command, or even of the whole army, and all nations 
affix to the offence 'the penalty of death. 

Private William Scott, of Company K, of the Third 
Regiment of Vermont Volunteers, will be released from 
confinement and returned to duty. 

By command of Major-General McClellan. 

S. "Williams, Assistant Adjutant- General. 

The pardon was read to the regiment, which heartily 
expressed their appreciation of this act of Executive 
clemency. 

September 10. Battle of Carnifex Ferry, Va. 

It will be remembered that we left General John B. 
Floyd in possession of the Federal camp at Summer- 
ville, after having surprised Colonel Tyler with the Sev- 
enth Ohio regiment while at breakfast ; now we find him 
intrenched in a powerful position on the top of a moun- 
tain at Carnifex Ferry, on the west side of Gauley River, 
only a short distance from Summerville. General Rose- 
crans, after making a reconnoisance, ascertained Floyd'y 
army to be five thousand strong, with sixteen field- 
pieces ; the front masked with heavy forests and a close 
jungle, and the rear and extreme of both flanks inac- 
cessible, a most formidable natural position, strengthened 
by pallisades and intrenchments. 

The Union army, under General Rosecrans, in their 
march from Clarksburgh (his head-quarters) to Big 
Burch River, after passing over hills and through hol- 

30* 



354 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

lows, glens, gorges, and ruggedness, encamped on the 
fifth on the bluffs above the lifeless village of Sutton for 
a temporary rest. 

On the seventh, at sis o'clock in the morning, they 
were to resume the march. The tents were struck 
promptly, and the column was ready to move, but in 
consequence of some unforeseen events they were de- 
layed six hours, until mid-day, when the column and its 
ponderous baggage train twisted themselves around the 
swelling form of Kreitz's Mountain — a bifurcated ele- 
vation, with twin summits, divided by a gorge of pro- 
found depth and obscurity. 

From that time until late at night they swept steadily 
onward, with now and then a brief halt to afford men 
and boasts opportunity to recruit strength for continued 
effort. After a severe march, the last four or five miles 
through darkness over a painful road, wading creeks and 
splashing through mud, mingled with gravel, they halt- 
ed on the soutlieast bank of Big Burch River, in Nicho- 
las county, nineteen miles from Sutton, and about sixteen 
from Summerville, plunged into the wet grass, and 
bivouacked without satisfying their hunger. The bag- 
gage train was compelled to halt in the middle of the 
road, and did not arrive until nearly noon the next day. 
It had been intended to bivouac at the foot of the moun- 
tain, but tliey could find no camping ground, not even 
the side of a hill upon which a soldier could recline with 
the hope of remaining stationary till he could go to sleep, 
until finally, the harassed and wearied troops plunged 
headlong into friendly meadows in Big Burch flats. 
Here, on the banks of the dark and turbulent stream, 
they were permitted to rest their weary bones over the 
Sabbath, with the exception of scouting parties wlio 
scoured the mountains and glens, in pursuit of rebels 
who had fled from the valley where the Union troops 
were encamped, as the vanguard of the Union army 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 355 

debouched from the ravines on the east side of the 
river. 

On Monday morning they scaled Powell Mountain, 
the loftiest summit in Western Virginia, evidences of a 
receding enemy not far in advance constantly increasing. 
On the topmost ridge was a camp which had evidently 
been occupied by a considerable force the previous night. 
Every woman or child of sufficient intelligence to answer 
a plain question was interrogated. All the men of the 
mountain seemed to have fled at the approach of the 
hostile armies, either to escape impressment or to join 
the Confederate army, and it was extremely difficult to 
find a guide who knew any thing about the country a 
mile from the highway. A chatty old woman at a cabin 
on the mountain assured them that the rebels were in a 
" mighty strong, ugly place," and subsequent events 
proved that she was right, though the old crone spoke 
only from hearsay. At last the vanguard debouched at 
twilight into Muddlethy bottoms, and the column bivou- 
acked in the fine meadows of Muddlethy, and the troops 
fell asleep expecting to go into battle before another sunset. 

The next morning, the 10th, the vanguard was in 
motion at four o'clock, and, at six, the whole column 
were sweeping rapidly onward toward Summerville, and 
as they raised from a little valley to the crest of a mound 
which looked down into the village, a party of mounted 
rebels were discovered flying down the road. The 
column now advanced with extreme caution, having no 
definite information concerning the rebel position, they 
were liable at any moment to fall into an ambuscade or 
masked battery. Benham's skirmishers flanked the 
road on either side, sweeping every foot of ground, and 
scouts were sent forward to scour the jungle ; and from 
thence not a bridle path, ravine, or neighboring cliif was 
passed without a thorough examination in advance. 

About one o'clock the column halted at the forks of 



356 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

the road, one branch leading to Cross Lanes and Gaiiley 
Bridge, the other to Lewisbiirgh, by way of Carnifex 
Ferry. An hour before halting there, the commander- 
in-chief had no knowledge of the geographical position 
of Floyd, but an intelligent mountaineer lad, who had 
been in the rebel camp, opportunely made his appearance 
to enlighten him. From him they learned that Floyd 
was on the cliffs overlooking Carnifex Ferry, and that a 
mile further up the road approaching him, there was an- 
other fork leading among the hills to Cross Lanes, and 
very innocently suggested its importance, in a military 
point of view. Heavy columns were immediately de- 
ployed in line-of-battle on the hills in the rear, and strong 
bodies of skirmishers enveloped the ridges in front, when 
General Benham was ordered to move on down the 
road. Nearly two hours were thus occupied, when 
Benham sent back word that the reconnoisance was 
effected to the point then desired, and the track was 
clear. General Rosecrans immediately went to the front 
to inquire into sharp firing in the direction of the ferry. 
It turned out that the skirmishers had driven in the 
rebel pickets, and in their eager chase, had disturbed a 
considerable body of the enemy under Colonel Reynolds, 
who were encamped on the hill not a mile and a half 
from the forks of the road where the Federals had been 
halting so long. The news was communicated to the 
troops, who received it with inspiriting shouts. 

It was now perfectly obvious to all that tliey were 
about to engage the enemy ; the men braced themselves 
manfiilly for it, and the Irish regiment, under Colonel 
Lytle, who had the right of the column, having already 
snuffed the enemy, pressed on with fiery zeal, with the 
gallant Smith and his Thirteenth Ohio on their heels. 
The remainder of Benham's Brigade, the Twelfth Ohio, 
under Colonel Lowe, was halted at the foot of the hill, 
to guard the cross-road, while McCook and Scammon 



THE KEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



357 



were moving their columns toward the front by another 
route, over the ridges. 

General Benham now asked permission to press upon 
the enemy with his brigade, and General Rosecrans gave 
his consent to a demonstration for reconnoisance. Ben- 
ham clapped spurs to his horse, wagging his head with 
obvious satisfaction, and promised a satisfactory inquiry 
into Mr. Floyd's arrangements, which had been so dili- 
gently concealed. Intense excitement prevailed ; to the 
troops every moment seemed an hour. Those in ad- 
vance were earnest and eager. Those halted in the 
rear were impatient at their detention, and now and 
then a shot or two, heard in advance, increased their 

vexation. 

About half-past three o'clock in the afternoon, the 
commander-in-chief rode to the top of an adjacent hill to 
make an observation. His staff were clustered about 
him awaiting orders, and the artillery were laboring up 
the hill, when their attention was attracted by quick, 
sharp firing in the forests just ahead. Almost simulta- 
neously came a terrific and prolonged roar of musketry, 
which induced the belief that the First Brigade had 
fallen into an ambuscade or masked battery. Language 
is inadequate to depict their intense anxiety. The gen- 
eral's deportment, though firm, demonstrated the terrible 
emotions of his own brave soul. All were in an agony 
of suspense ; but scarce an instant had elapsed, when 
they heard the swift volleys of the Ohio First ringing 
through the mountain ; another instant, and the deep 
detonation was swelled into proportions of awful grandeur 
by the cannon's opening roar. The thunderous voice 
rolled in magnificent volume among the crags of Gauley 
until their confused reverberations died away in contend- 
ing echoes among the mountains. We could see nothing 
of the battle, not even smoke, but we knew by the infer- 
nal din that our battalions were swarming about the 



358 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

enemy. Only the tenth and eighth companies of the 
Thirteenth Regiment had yet gone forward. Lowe's 
Twelfth Ohio had been ordered up by General Rosecrans, 
and it now came charging np the road at double-quick, 
its brave colonel at the head, and as the lads raised the 
crest of the hill, they saluted the general, who was wait- 
ing to direct their commander, with a volley of cheers. 
The Twelfth plunged into the jungle on the left, Adju- 
tant-General Hartsuff leading Lowe toward his position. 
As the bold fellows rushed into the woods, they flung 
knapsacks and blankets desperately into the field, and 
pitched forward to regain their places. Hartsuff now 
came back, and, by order of the general, sent forward 
McMullen's howitzers and Snyder's two field-pieces, 
which plunged up the road with thundering racket. 
Ammunition wagons lumbered along heavily, teamsters 
furiously lashing the horses into their utmost speed. 
Staff officers dashed hither and thither with desperate 
haste, leading on columns, according to emergency, or 
carrying orders to the commanders of regiments or brig- 
ades. The tout ensemble was a splendid spectacle of 
excitement and eager haste to dash into battle. 

But every thing yet remained enveloped in mystery. 
No tidings came up from the field. General Rosecrans, 
having made all necessary disposition to protect his 
rear, advanced to the front. Pushing down the ferry 
road, which was densely shaded by masses of under- 
growth and heavy forests, they still saw no battle ; but the 
terrific uproar, which seemed almost within the cast of a 
pebble, and the hurtling bullets cutting the twigs over- 
liead, was proof that the enemy was close at hand. 
Directly a gleam of light from a clearing in front, with a 
long stream of fire blazing along the works of the enemy, 
showed where they were. Tlie general took position 
near the battery, and from that time until the last column 
groped out of the woods in thick darkness, he was in 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 359 

the midst of the combat, directing the general move- 
ments of the division. Benham was also in the front of 
battle, watching his brigade with reckless exposure of 
his person, encouraging and emboldening the men by his 
fearlessness. 

Meantime McCook's Brigade of Germans had formed 
in line of battle, on the crest of Rebel Hill, and Scam- 
mon's little brigade was marching in to form behind 
him to protect our left. 

The wounded were now being brought in rapidly, tell- 
ing of carnage. The way was now described by rebel bul- 
lets, and the Tenth was deployed up the hill to the right, 
and the Thirteenth down the hill into the ravine to the left, 
Lytle and Smith each at the head of their regiments. The 
batteries we're still behind, and Lowe's Twelfth Ohio was 
some distance in the rear, coming up slowly, so that the 
Tenth and Thirteenth had to support the enemy's fire a 
long time without assistance. But they did it gallantly, 
and continued to advance until they got to the edge of 
the abatis in front of the enemy, where they stood near 
the verge of the forest. In consequence of the rugged 
and impracticable nature of the ground, the line of the 
Tenth was broken, and the right wing was separated 
from the centre. Colonel Lytle could not see this on 
account of the jungle, and General Benham was direct- 
ing a movement on the extreme left, when Lytle ordered 
the colors forward, and shouting, " Follow, Tenth," he 
made a dash up the road, intending to charge the battery, 
and succeeded in getting within little more than a 
hundred yards of the rebel parapet before he was dis- 
covered. A terrific fire opened upon him, and *his four 
gallant conij)anies, who followed him with frantic cheers, 
suffered severely. A ball went through his left leg, and 
wounded his horse, which became unmanageable, and 
threw him. The horse dashed over the rebel intrench- 
ments, and was killed, and the gallant Lytle himself was 



360 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

assisted into a house not a hundred feet off, and heard 
the crash of cannon balls through it and over it until the 
battle ended. Color-sergeant Fitzgibbons, who was be- 
hind the colonel when he fell, had his right hand shat- 
tered, but, gathering the Stars and Stripes in his left, he 
waved them again enthusiastically, and was torn in 
pieces by a round shot. Sergeant 0' Conner snatched the 
falling colors, and again held them aloft, when he was 
also struck by a ball in his left hand, but he dropped be- 
hind a log, and kept the colors flying until exhaustion 
compelled him to drop them. His captain, Stephen Mc- 
Groarty, snatched them up again, and while rolling 
them up, ordered his men to retire to cover, and in bring- 
ing up the rear, a ball struck him in the right breast, 
and went through him without disabling him, until after 
he got out of the field with his flag. Every man of 
his company stuck to him with unswerving fidelity. 

The Irish lads continued to stick to the front with 
an Irishman's determination, but they were sadly cut 
up. Father O'Higgins, their chaplain, was with them 
constantly, and displayed conspicuous gallantry. Mean- 
time, Colonel Smith worked off to the extreme right of 
the rebels under a furious fusilade of rifles and musket- 
ry, and was laboriously engaged in scaling a precipice 
which protected the rebel position in that direction. It 
was twilight before he got into position for an assault, 
but his men lay on their bellies in the thicket playing 
away at the enemy not a hundred yards from them. The 
order for an assault did not come, and the brave Thir- 
teenth had wasted its energies and showed their pluck 
for nothing. 

The Twelfth Ohio had found their route impractica- 
ble, and their brave colonel carried them over a rugged 
route squarely into the front of the battle, and gave them 
an opportunity to do their share of duty. Colonel Lowe 
was encouraging and directing them in front, when he 



THE KEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 361 



was struck by a shot fairly in the centre of his forehead, 
and he fell dead without a groan. A moment afterwards 
a charge of grape mangled both his legs. 

Snyder's two rifled six-pounders, and McMullen's 
batteries were planted in the road about two hundred 
yards in front of the rebel main battery, and were 
served rapidly and with considerable effect. Subsequent- 
ly part of each was removed to the right. Captain 
McMullen was finally struck down, but not seriously 
hurt. The rebel artillery was not regarded very formi- 
dable. The majority of their balls and shells went whist- 
ling and tearing through the tree-tops, making an infer- 
nal racket, and now and then a round shell would stop, 
in mid career, in the trunk of a tree, and bury itself with 
a wicked crash. Finally, at dusk McCook's Brigade was 
ordered into position. The Ninth was carried around to 
the left of the rebel battery by Captain Hartsuff, to make 
a rush upon it under a flanking battery which had been 
discovered in the woods, on their extreme left, but which 
had not been served during the engagement. The bold 
fellows, under their colonel, pushed forward under a 
galling storm of musketry, and were about to dash 
headlong at the enemy under cover of darkness, when 
they were ordered back, after suffering a loss of one 
killed, and ten wounded. The four companies under 
Major Hayes, after infinite difficulty, scaling precipices 
and forcing their way through dense thickets of laurel 
and blackberry bushes, had been halted in a ravine in 
front of the centre of tlie rebels' right wing, and they 
were afterwards supported by the Twenty-eighth, under 
Colonel Moor. The former met with no casualties, 
though under fire. The latter pushed across the ravine, 
and extended the line up a precipitous hill, until the 
whole of the main front of the enemy was enveloped by 
our lines. He lost two killed, and thirty-one wounded. 
It was now pitchy dark. It was impossible to distin- 

31 



862 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

guish an object a'yard from your eyes, and it was so ob- 
viously unwise to storm the works in such dense obscu- 
rity, that the general was compelled to withdraw the 
troops. They retired slowly and mad at their disappoint- 
ment, and bivouacked wearied and supperless within 
musket rano-e of the rebel front. It was nine o'clock at 
night when they got out of the forest where they had 
labored and fought unflinchingly five hours. 

After a march of seventeen and a half miles, and 
five hours' fighting, the troops felt the need of rest, 
and they retired to bivouac under the batteries of 
the Confederates, intending to carry them by storm 
before sunrise the next morning, but the enemy did not 
wait. 

Shortly after daylight a runaway contraband came in, 
and reported that the enemy had crossed the Gauley 
during the night by means of the ferry and a bridge 
which they had completed. 

Colonel Ewing was ordered to take possession of the 
camp, which he did at about seven o'clock, capturing a 
few prisoners, two stand of colors, a considerable quan- 
tity of arms, with quartermaster's stores, messing and 
camp equipage. The enemy had destroyed the bridge 
across the Gauley, which here rushes through a deep 
gorge, and our troops being still much fatigued, and hav- 
ing no material for immediately replacing the bridge, it 
was thought prudent to encamp the troops. 

Floyd had slipped off after our troops were withdrawn. 
He began the evacuation as soon as he discovered that 
we did not intend to storm him, and by three o'clock the 
next morning he put the deep and turbulent Gauley, 
and some miles of rugged road, between himself and 
our disgusted army. The wily general sunk the flats 
and destroyed the trestle bridge by which he had secured 
his retreat, and the Federal troops were left on the other 
side, profanely cursing their luck. 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 363 

According to the surgeon's and company reports, the 
loss to the Federal troops was sixteen killed, and one 
hundred and two wounded ; twenty-five wounded mem- 
bers of Colonel Tyler's Seventh Ohio regiment, who were 
taken prisoners at Summerville, were recaptured. The 
troops encamped at the Cross Roads, two miles from the 
battle-field, and communication was immediately opened 
with General Cox, at Gauley Ridge. The battle of Car- 
nifex Ferry was fought exclusively by troops from Ohio, 
and well did they vindicate the honor of the Buckeye 
State. The gallant Tenth (Irish) regiment and their 
daring leader, the chivalrous Lytic, were probably the 
most conspicuous in the field, because they had the front 
by right of seniority. It is said that Colonel Lowe an- 
ticipated his misfortune. He had been unjustly and 
malignantly accused of cowardice at Seavey, and he said 
the sacrifice of his life was necessary to redeem his repu- 
tation. On his way to the field of Carnifex Ferry, he re- 
quested the chaplain of his regiment to take care of his 
property if his presentiments should be realized. He 
died where a soldier loves to die — in the thickest of the 
fight. Colonel Lowe was an old citizen of Xenia, Ohio, 
where he was universally respected. He was not an ed- 
ucated military man, but he had the courage of a sol- 
dier. His remains were forwarded to his family. 

September 12. Fight at Cheat Mountain, Va. 

On the morning of the twelfth a portion of the rebel 
army in two columns commenced an advance on both 
pikes, toward Elk Water and Cheat Mountain Summit. 
A detachment, consisting of three Tennessee regiments 
under General Anderson, succeeded in surrounding the 
fort on the summit of the mountain, and cut the tele- 
graph wire, and was descending the mountain in the di- 
rection of Elk Water, when they were met by a detach- 
ment of three hundred men from the Fourteenth Indiana 
and Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Ohio regiments, 



364 THE EEBELLIOM IN THE UNITED STATES. 



when a sharp skirmish ensued, resulting in the complete 
route of the Confederates, with the loss of forty killed, 
and a few wounded ; Union loss, ten. Meantime, the 
other columns continued to advance on Elk Water, and 
when within about two miles of the Federal camp they 
were driven back by detachments of men from the Fif- 
teenth Indiana, Third and Sixth Ohio regiments, and 
shells from Loomis's Battery, and retired some eight or 
ten miles. 

The next morning (thirteenth) two regiments of Fed- 
erals were sent to cut their way through to the summit, 
when General Lee resumed the attack along the whole 
line at Cheat Mountain. After a long contest, General 
Reynolds fairly repulsed him with considerable loss, and 
perhaps most on the side of the Confederates, owing to 
the fact that many of the Federal troops fought behind 
intrenchments. On the morning of the thirteenth, two 
rebel officers were discovered spying around the camp 
at Elk Water, and were surprised and shot. The body 
of one was brought into camp, which proved to be that 
of Colonel John A. Washington, proprietor of Mount 
Yernon. On the fifteenth it was sent over to the enemy, 
under a flag of truce, and while on the way it was met 
by a similar flag coming from the enemy for the purpose 
of obtaining information as to his condition. 

September 14. Privateer Judith was destroyed at 
Pensacola. The monotony of the " Blockade," off 
Pensacola harbor, was somewhat broken by the burning 
of the privateer Judith, by a boat expedition from the 
United States Steam-frigate Colorado. 

For several days a large schooner had been observed 
in the harbor, in the vicinity of the navy yard, and her 
appearance and motions led to the suspicion that she had 
been fitted up for a privateer, and had intentions of 
trying to run the blockade. 

By some deserters who escaped from the secession 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 365 

camp and came to Fort Pickens, these suspicions were 
confirmed, and further information obtained that the 
schooner was moored near the Stone Wharf, at the 
southeast corner of the navy yard, and also that upon 
the wharf near where the schooner was moored, a battery 
was being erected, and that one large Columbiad was 
already mounted. 

In the early part of the day, the fourteenth, Captain 
Bailey went ashore on Santa Rosa Island, for the purpose 
of " takin' notes " in regard to the schooner and the 
reported battery, with the view of getting up an expedi- 
tion against them. After obtaining all the information 
he could from the deserters, and corroborating their 
evidence by his own observations with the spy-glass, he 
decided that an attack might be made with reasonable 
chances for success, and by the time he reached the 
frigate in the evening, he had the plans for an expedi- 
tion matured. Acting upon these, Flag-officer Mervine 
decided at once on sending a boat expedition to the navy 
yard, for the purpose of spiking the mounted gun, 
spoken of above, and burning the embryo privateer. 

Accordingly about eight o'clock in the evening, the 
detail of men and officers was announced ; the boats 
hoisted out ; the men armed and supplied with ammuni- 
tion, and the expedition placed under the command of 
Lieutenant John H. Russell. 

About eleven o'clock at night the boats, with muffled 
oars, left the " Colorado," and pulled into the harbor, 
keeping far enough from the rebel side to avoid observa- 
tion. They continued on up the harbor to a point a 
little above the navy yard. Here the course was changed, 
and each boat was headed for its especial object. From 
this moment every thought and every effort of both 
officers and men were directed to the successful accom- 
plishment of this most dangerous enterprise. The 
parties in the launch and second cutter were to board 

31* 



366 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

and burn the schooner ; those in tlie first and third 
cutters were to charge the battery and spike the recently 
mounted " big gun." 

Lieutenant Sproston, heading tlie crews of the first 
and third cutters, landed at the northern face of the 
stone wharf, and made directly for the newly-erected 
battery. 

True courage, wherever found, will command respect, 
but the brave man sometimes loses his life where his 
light-heeled comrades save theirs, and so it proved in 
this instance, for, when they arrived at the spot, they 
found the battery of one gun entirely deserted except by 
a solitary soldier, who stood his ground, in the face of 
tliirty men, and discharged his musket at the lieutenant ; 
but at the same instant the sharp crack of a pistol was 
heard, and the lone defender of the battery, who had 
missed his own aim, fell a victim to that of the more for- 
tunate gunner. 

In a few minutes the " Columbiad " was spiked, and 
Lieutenant Sproston having accomplished the duty 
assigned him, according to previous orders, recalled his 
men to their boats. 

The other division of the party, in the launch and 
second cutter, on approaching the schooner, found that 
instead of being moored in the stream, she had been 
hauled into the dry dock slip, and was tied up to the 
wharf. Nothing daunted, however, at this unpleasant 
change in the programme, the gallant fellows dashed 
ahead in the slip alongside the schooner. As they were 
approaching the vessel, they were hailed from her decks 
five or six times, and were thus prepared to expect a 
hand-to-hand encounter. The cutter — being much the 
lighter boat — shot ahead of the launch as she approached 
the enemy's vessel, and as she passed under her bows 
was greeted by a galling fire, but in a moment she had 
grappled the schooner about midships, and Lieutenant 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 367 

Blake and his men were on the rebel deck. In another 
moment the launch was under the schooner's guns, and, 
like the cutter, was received by a deadly salute. 

Before the enemy had time to reload. Lieutenant Rus- 
sell was upon her decks, followed by the brave fellows of 
his boat, who had escaped the murderous discharge of 
musketry with which they were greeted. Forty or more 
of officers, seamen, and marines, precipitating themselves 
so unceremoniously upon the enemy's deck, produced a 
stampede among them, and nearly all of them fled from 
the deck to the shore. One only attempted to stand his 
ground. As soon as the decks were cleared of the rebels, 
the men proceeded to set the schooner on fire, and when 
this was effectually accomplished, they took to their 
boats and succeeded in getting off with but a few strag- 
gling sliots from the rebels, who had begun to rally upon 
the wharf. 

When the boats had got beyond the range of mus- 
ketry, the first and second cutters were both ordered to 
give a parting salute to the enemy that were collecting 
upon the wharf, which they did in the shape of five or 
six rounds of "canister" from their twelve-pound how- 
itzers. 

The schooner that was destroyed was about two hun- 
dred tons, with four broadside guns, and one pivot-gun 
on the forecastle, and fully equipped for sea. 

So small a force as this, under the command of Lieu- 
tenant Russell, on this occasion, entering into the very 
stronghold of an enemy, spiking his guns and burning 
an armed vessel, is an exploit not often surpassed, even 
in the history of a navy, many of whose members have 
been distinguished for gallantry. 

It was not done, however, without loss — three killed, 
and fifteen wounded ; two fatally, five severely, and the 
others slightly. 

The only one of the Federalists killed upon the deck 



368 THE KEBELLION IX THE UNITED STATES. 

of the schooner was the marine, John Smith. This poor 
fellow had, a few days previous, for some misdemeanor, 
been placed in confinement. When the expedition was 
gotten up, Smith was told that he might now have an 
opportunity to redeem his character, and if he conducted 
himself bravely he would be released from further pun- 
ishment. He was rejoiced at the chance of a fight, and 
said to his commanding officer, " Sir, you shall have no 
cause to regret having released me, I will do my duty." 
He was in the second cutter, and was the first man to 
land upon the enemy's deck, and met his death in a few 
moments after. 

September 17. Another railroad disaster. 

To the Confederates it mattered but little in what way 
their enemies were destroyed, whether by fire, by explo- 
sions, by poison, by submarine batteries, by railroad ac- 
cidents, by ambuscade, or at the cannon's mouth on the 
field of battle ; whether by an open conflict in the broad 
blaze of day, or by some deep-laid plot in the silent mid- 
night, only that they were annihilated, it mattered not in 
what way it was done. It seemed as if every imagina- 
ble machine of death, which their keen penetration and 
cunning ingenuity could devise, was brought into requi- 
sition ; and now comes to us, on the wings of the wind, 
the heart-rending shrieks and groans consequent upon 
another bridge destroyed. On the Ohio and Mississippi 
Railroad, at -a point one hundred and forty-three miles west 
of Cincinnati, near the little town of Huron, Indiana, was 
bridge number forty-eight of the Ohio and Mississippi 
Railroad. On the night of the seventeenth, a train, 
containing two hundred and fifty men of the Nineteenth 
Illinois regiment, under Colonel Torchin, on their way 
to join Rosecrans in Western Virginia, broke through 
the bridge, the abutments having been sawn nearly in 
two by some traitorous or malicious persons, by which 
means four passenger cars were precipitated down into 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 369 

the bed of the creek, and one box and one baggage car 
on the top of them ; the engine and one car passed safe- 
ly over. By this plot one hundred Union soldiers were 
killed and wounded. 

Under date of 17th, also, we learn that Governor 
Magoffin, of Kentucky, issued a proclamation order- 
ing all the Confederate troops out of Kentucky, in- 
forming the government of the Confederate States, the 
State of Tennessee, and all others concerned, that Ken- 
tucky expected the Confederate or Tennessee troops to 
be withdrawn from her soil unconditionally. Whereup- 
on, General Zollicoffer, in command of the Confederate 
forces in Tennessee, sent a telegraphic despatch to Gov- 
ernor Magoffin, announcing that the safety of Tennessee 
demanded the occupation of Cumberland Gap, and the 
three long mountains in Kentucky, and that he had 
done so, and should retain his position until the Nation- 
al forces were withdrawn and the National camp broken 
up, which document was submitted to the legislature of 
Kentucky, then in session, and on the following day, 
18th, the Committee on Federal Relations reported sub- 
stantially, as follows: 

Whereas, The rebel troops have invaded Kentucky, 
and insolently dictate the terms upon which they will re- 
tire ; therefore, 

Resolved, That General Anderson be invited to take 
instant charge of this department, and call out a force 
sufficient to expel the invaders. 

The resolution passed both houses, also a resolution 
placing the arms and ammunition of the State under the 
control of the commander of the National forces in Ken- 
tucky. 

September 18. The Provost Marshal of Baltimore 
closed tlie legislative halls at Frederick, Md., by arrest- 
ing the secession members of the legislature, nearly 
three-fourths of the house being " secesh." The legis- 



370 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



lature was to meet in extra session on the 18th, but 
as fast as the members arrived in Baltimore, on their 
way to Frederick, that portion of them who, it was known, 
favored secession, were arrested and sent to Fort Mc- 
Henry. The Union members refused to meet, there be- 
ing no quorum, consequently they left in the afternoon, 
each one for his own home, and over the capital of Mary- 
land floated the " Stars and Stripes," with the motto, 
" The Union must be preserved." After twenty-four 
hours' confinement, the officers of the legislature were 
allowed their liberty on taking the oath of allegiance. 
All assented except John N. Brewer, the reading clerk, 
who refused, and was sent off from Frederick with nine 
members to Annapolis. At four o'clock in the afternoon 
there was not a member of the legislature in the city, all 
having left for home. On the same day, in the depart- 
ment of the West, Colonel Frank P. Blair, Jr., was 
arrested by order of General Fremont, on a charge of 
insubordination in communicating when attending supe- 
rior officers, making complaints against, and using dis- 
respectful language toward. General Fremont, with a 
view of effecting his removal ; but on the 25th, General 
Fremont ordered his release, and sent the following note 
to Colonel Blair, which explains his reasons for so 
doing : 

" In consequence of a telegram from your brother, 
Postmaster-General Blair, followed by a letter asking 
your release, from public reasons you are hereby re- 
leased from arrest, and directed to resume your sword 
and join your regiment for duty." 

September 20. Surrender of Colonel Mulligan at 
Lexington, Mo. 

On the 21st of June, four days after the battle 
of Boonville, in which Price and Jackson were defeat- 
ed by General Lyon, Governor Jackson despatched a 
special messenger to. Thomas A. Harris as the bearer of 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 371 

a commission which constituted Thomas A. Harris, brig- 
adier-general of the Missouri State Guard. The com- 
mission was accompanied by orders from General Ster- 
ling Price which assigned him to the duty of organizing 
the forces for the defence of that portion of the State 
north of the Missouri River. The messenger overtook 
Harris at Paris, Monroe county, where he had stopped 
for a few hours' rest while on his way to the rendezvous 
at Boonville, to offer his services as a private soldier. 
There Harris learned the fate of the Confederates at 
Boonville, and that the governor and General Price, 
with such of the forces as had been hastily collected, 
were in full retreat before the Federals in the direction 
of southwestern Missouri. Harris immediately com- 
menced recruiting an army, called a public meeting, and 
delivered a stirring and patriotic address, at the close of 
which he caused the oath of allegiance to the South to 
be administered to himself in the most public and im- 
pressive manner, and then, in turn, administered the 
same oath to fifty-three men, and organized them into 
a company,- directing them to return to their homes, col- 
lect their private arms, and join him without delay. 
Soon a report was circulated, though false, that the Fed- 
eral troops were marching upon the town of Paris, where 
quite a large number of troops, under Harris, had al- 
ready assembled, many of them without arms ; in conse- 
quence of which General Harris and his command im- 
mediately evacuated the town and retired into a strong- 
hold in the knobs of Salt River. Here, without blankets 
or tents, and with very little of any kind of army equip- 
ments, he commenced the organization of a guerilla 
force, observing the utmost secrecy in all his movements, 
as he believed himself constantly in close proximity to 
the Federal army. Here we leave General Harris for a 
short time, and follow General Price to the battle-field 
of Lexington. 



372 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



After the battle of Wilson's Creek, General Price and 
McCulloch could not agree upon any plan of operations 
for the future, consequently, late in August, General 
Price, abandoned by the Confederate forces, took up his 
line of march for the Missouri River with a small force 
of his old command and seven pieces of cannon. He 
was continually receiving accessions on the way, and 
soon he had an armed force of four thousand five hun- 
dred men. Hearing that General Lane and Montgomery 
were at Fort Scott with a force of several thousand Fed- 
eral troops from Kansas, and not desiring them to get in 
his rear, he detoured to the left from his course to the 
Missouri River and marched directly toward For* Scott 
for tlie purpose of driving them before him up the river. 
He continued his march until he arrived at a poiat on 
a small stream called Drywood, about fifteen miles east 
of Fort Scott, where he halted and sent on a detachment 
to Fort Scott, who found the place evacuated. Mean- 
time, General Harris, in his gloomy and cavernous den, 
had succeeded in raising a force of two thousand seven 
hundred and thirty men, crossed them over the river, 
and, after a march of sixty-two miles in twenty-eight 
hours, united his command with General Price, at Dry- 
wood, just in time to participate in the battle of Lexing- 
ton. 

The united forces of Harris and Price now continued 
their march in the direction of Lexington, receiving fre- 
quent reinforcements from the north side of the Mis- 
souri River. 

At Lexington, Colonel Mulligan was intrenched with 
about three thousand five hundred Federal troops in 
splendid fortifications. A bluff east of the city, and 
overlooking the river, was crowned with eartliworks seven 
feet high, twelve thick, and heavily mounted ; and a 
ditch six feet deep and twelve feet wide surrounded the 
works on the outside, wiiile another and a smaller forti- 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 373 



fication was erected on the inside ; the whole works were 
calculated to intrench ten thousand men. The force 
under Colonel Mulligan consisted as follows : Colonel 
Mulligan's Irish Brigade, from Chicago, about one 
thousand men ; Colonel Marshall's Irish Regiment, Illi- 
nois Cavalry, about eight hundred men ; Captain Gra- 
ham's Illinois Cavalry, about one hundred men ; Home 
Guards, under Lieutenant-Colonel White ; Home Guards, 
under Lieutenant-Colonel Givern ; Major Wright's Home 
Guards, one hundred mounted men ; Colonel Peabody's 
regiment of Home Guards, eight hundred strong, with 
two pieces of artillery, and Major Becker's Home 
Guards. 

Generals Price and Harris continued their march, 
pushing rapidly forward without intermission, except 
when it became evident that the infantry could go no 
further ; then he halted them for a few hours, and again 
resumed the march until they arrived at Warrensburg, 
where General Price was constrained to encamp in con- 
sequence of a heavy rain, which had commenced about 
the same time, coupled with the fact that his men had 
been fasting for more than twenty-four hours, and were 
also greatly fatigued by several days' continuous and 
rapid marching. A violent storm delayed the march 
next morning until the hour of ten o'clock, when the 
march was resumed ; but, finally. General Price became 
impatient at the slow progr'^', of his infantry, and 
ordered a detachment of mounted men to move forward, 
and placing himself at their head, pushed rapidly for- 
ward until he arrived at a point within two and a half 
miles of Lexington, where he halted for the night, hav- 
ing learned that the Federal forces had all gone within 
the city. 

The next morning, 16th, about daybreak, a sharp 
skirmish took place between the Confederate pickets and 
the Union outposts, which threatened a general action, 

32 



374 THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

but General Price was unwilling to risk an engagement 
unless perfectly certain of success ; consequently he fell 
back two or three miles, and awaited tlie arrival of his 
infantry and cavalry. These having come up, he ad- 
vanced upon the town, driving in the Federal pickets 
until he arrived within a sliort distance of the city. 
General Price then surrounded the town and demanded 
an unconditional surrender of the fort, which was flatly 
refused, and preparations were made for a determined 
resistance. General Price then commenced an attack on 
tlie intrenchments, opening with his artillery, and, under 
its cover, making an advance on the town. The attack 
was met gallantly by the brave men of Colonel Mulli- 
gan's command, and Price was repulsed with great loss, 
but managed to keep up a brisk fire from his batteries 
until sunset, compelling the Federal troops to take sheltei 
witJiin their intrenchments. 

After sunset. General Price finding that his ammuni- 
tion, the most of which had been left behind in the 
march from Springfield, was nearly exhausted, and that 
his men required rest and food, besides being badly cut 
up, he withdrew to the Fair Ground, and encamped 
there, awaiting reinforcements and preparing for a re- 
newal of the attack. Simultaneously with this move- 
ment on Lexington, Generals Lane and Montgomery 
with a force of four thousand men were advancing from 
the direction of St. Joseph, on the north side of the 
Missouri River, for the purpose of relieving the forces 
under Colonel Mulligan. At the same time, about three 
thousand Missourians, under the immediate command 
of Colonel Saunders, were hurrying to the aid of Gen- 
eral Price, from the same direction with Lane and 
Montgomery, and having reached the run at Blue 
Mills, thirty miles above Lexington, on the 17th of 
September, crossed over a portion of their force in a 
ferry-boat. "While the remainder were waiting to cross 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 375 

over, tliey were attacked on the north bank of the river, 
by the Kansas troops under General Lane. The battle 
raged furiously nearly one hour on the river bottom 
which was heavily timbered, and in many places covered 
with water ; no time was given the Confederates to call 
back any portion of their forces which had crossed over 
the river ; but those engaged were from the counties 
contiguous to Kansas, and accustomed, in the border 
wars since 1854, to almost monthly fights with the Kan- 
sas " Jayhawkers " under Lane, and were fired with the 
most intense hatred of him and of them, and now, with 
shouts of almost savage ferocity, they charged upon the 
Federal troops, fighting with reckless valor, and drove 
them back a distance of several miles, the conflict be- 
coming a hand-to-hand fight between detached parties 
on both sides. At length, unable to support the fearful 
fire of the Confederates, at the short distance of forty 
yards, the Kansas troops broke into open flight, and 
made good their escape, with a loss of some two hundred 
killed and wounded. When the intelligence of this ex- 
ploit was communicated to General Price's army at 
Lexington, it was received with wild shouts of exultation 
which fairly rent the air, and was echoed back by the 
neighboring hills. 

General D. R. Atchison, former President of the United 
States Senate, and well known in this rebellion as one 
of the boldest leaders of the secessionists in Missouri, 
had been despatched from Lexington by General Price, 
to meet the troops under Colonel Saunders, and hasten 
them on to his army. He arrived at Blue Mills just in 
time to witness the engagement, and did much by his 
presence and example to cheer them in the conflict ; and 
on the second day after the battle. Colonel Saunders, 
with his con\mand, joined the army at Lexington, where 
he fought unremittingly till the surrender of the Federal 
garrison. 



376 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Four days before the attack on Lexington by General 
Price, a large band of rebels, under Martin Green, were 
temporarily encamped in the neighborhood of Florida, 
Mo., about thirty miles south of Hannibal, which fact 
became known to General Pope, who was at Hunnewell 
with eight hundred men, and he at once determined to 
make a night march and surprise him, but learning that 
Green had a force of three thousand five hundred men, 
he sent an engine at noon to Shelbina, eight miles west, 
with orders to General Hurlburt to send down imme- 
diately five hundred men to reinforce him, his force 
being too small to attack such superior numbers, but in 
consequence of gross mismanagement on the part of 
General Hurlburt's troops from Shelbina, which should 
have reached Hunnewell at three o'clock, they did not 
arrive until eleven, P. M., when it was too late to start on 
the expedition that night. 

Another attack was planned for the next night, how- 
ever, and General Pope marched his one thousand four 
hundred men twenty-four miles, over an almost roadless 
country, and reached Green's camp early on Mon- 
day morning, the 17th, to find it deserted. Green, 
with his command, was flying over hills and through 
valleys in the direction of Lexington to reinforce Gen- 
eral Price, where he arrived late at night on the first 
day of the battle. 

On the morning of the 18th, General Price, with 
the accession of Green's command and other large 
reinforcements, which had arrived during the night, and 
his ammunition wagons having been at last brought up, 
he again moved into town and commenced an attack 
upon the Federal works. Brigadier-General Rains, with 
his division, occupied a strong position on the east and 
northeast of the fortifications, from which position a ter- 
rible cannonading was kept up on the Union troops by 
Bledsoe's battery, and another battery commanded by 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 377 

Captain Churchill Clark, of St. Louis ; while General 
Parsons took his position to the southeast of the works. 
Skirmishers and sharpshooters were sent forward from 
both of these divisions to harass and fatigue the Feder- 
alists, and cut them off from water on the north, east, 
and south, which deprivation was more powerful in 
effecting a surrender than any other agent could have 
been. Colonel Congreve Jackson's division and a part 
of General Steins's were posted near Generals Rains and 
Parsons as a reserve. 

The attack was determined and resolute, and the 
little band of Union troops within the fortifications 
fought bravely, desperately, hoping and expecting to be 
reinforced by General Lane from the west, and General 
Sturgis from the east, before they should be entirely 
overwhelmed by the rebel army, but in this they were 
doomed to disappointment. General Price having in 
some way received information that General Sturgis, 
with fifteen hundred cavalry, was advancing from the 
Hannibal and Saint Joseph Railroad, for the purpose of 
relieving the forces under Mulligan, immediately de- 
spatched Colonel Rives, who commanded the Fourth 
Division, to take possession of the ferry-boats which lay 
at the levee, in order to prevent Sturgis from crossing 
the river. The rebel forces advanced on the boats in 
two columns, one from above, and the other from below 
the town, one column commanded by Colonel Rives, the 
other by Colonel Hughes, while General McBride's com- 
mand, and a portion of General Harris's, was ordered to 
reinforce them. 

The Confederate forces moved along the river bank, to 
a point immediately beneath and west of the fortifica- 
tions, and Colonel Rives was proceeding down the bank 
of the river to capture a steamboat which was lying im- 
mediately under the guns of the fortification, when a 
heavy fire was opened upon him from the summit of the 

32* 



378 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

bluff, on which stood a house which was occupied by the 
Union soldiers as a hospital. Here, fronting the city, on 
the river bank, a very sharp engagement took place, 
the most desperate fighting of the whole day ; but the 
boats were not in fair range of Colonel Mulligan's guns, 
his fortifications being so situated as to prevent him from 
commanding them completely, and his force was too 
small to admit of his making a sortie against Price's 
overwhelming numbers. A company from Colonel 
Hughes' regiment rushed down and took possession of 
the boats, one of which was freighted with valuable 
stores, and General McBride's and Harris's divisions 
meanwhile stormed and occupied the bluffs near the 
hospital building. The position of these heights enabled 
the assailants to harass the confronting foe so greatly, 
that it was deemed a very important point to either side, 
but to the Union men it had an additional charm, inas- 
much as tliere was situated the building which contained 
their sick and wounded ; consequently, the Union troops, 
after a desperate fight, made a charge and regained the 
heights, l)ut were soon again driven from the position 
by the Confederates, who thenceforward held it to the 
very end of the contest. 

The next day, after the capture of the ferry-boats, the 
Union army, under General Sturgis, appeared on the 
river bank opposite Lexington, expecting to cross over 
in the boats of Mulligan, but finding them in possession 
of the enemy, and no means left whereby they could 
cross over the river, they, of course, could be of little or 
no service to Mulligan. General Sturgis, having ascer- 
tained this fact, retreated in the direction from whence he 
came, not, however, \intil General Price had sent across 
the river a force of two thousand men, under General 
Parsons, to give him battle. 

On the afternoon of the nineteenth, near the centre 
of the fortifications, by the staff upon which gracefully 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



379 



waved the Federal flag, stood Colonel Mulligan, with 
folded arms, and an expression of desperate resistance, 
mingled with disappointment and despair upon his coun- 
tenance. He had seen General Sturgis come and de- 
part, without being able to render him any assistance, 
aiyi now his eye was strained in the direction of the far 
distant west, scanning the various approaches to Lexing- 
ton, with the hope that he might see in the dim distance 
tlie forces under General Lane flying over the hills to 
his relief, but no reinforcements were in sight ; they 
came not. Without, a terrible conflict was raging with 
continual loss of ground on the side of the Unionists, 
and within the fortifications the men were dying of 
thirst, their supply of water being entirely cut off, and 
having nothing with which to slake their thirst, except 
an occasional sip of vinegar, and of which they had only 
three barrels, yet they fought bravely. Colonel Mulli- 
gan stood like a statue calculating the chances of a sur- 
render. He had offered to take a position on a level 
spot of ground, and give General Price the odds of four 
to one, in a fair and open fight, but no attention was 
paid to it, and he wept like a child when he found him- 
self compelled to surrender ; not childish tears at the 
loss of a toy or a plaything, but tears for his famishing 
men, fighting without any prospect of victory ; hoping 
against hope ; dying, yet selling their lives as dearly as 
possible ; and the tears of a soldier, for his country, that 
not only must the services of these gallant men be lost 
to the country in the further prosecution of the war, by 
their parole, but one of the most valuable, stragetic 
points in the West, with its immensely valuable stores, 
money, and munitions of war, must be given into the 
possession of the enemy. 

On the morning of the 20th, Colonel Mulligan called 
his men together around him and made a proposi- 
tion to attack the enemy with the bayonet and die in 



380 



THE EEBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



arms. The men with one voice consented to follow him, 
but were so exhausted, having had three days of inces- 
sant fighting, during which time they had neither time 
to eat or sleep, that they could make but feeble resist- 
ance. It was soon discovered that General Price had 
been reinforced during the night by Colonel Saunders, 
with twenty-five hundred men, and had procured a large 
number of hemp bales which were transported to the 
river heights where movable breastworks were speedily 
constructed out of them, which proved as efficient as the 
cotton bales at New Orleans. The troops rolled them in 
advance, and under their cover gradually succeeded in 
securing a position in the rear. The Confederates made 
but few charges upon the fortifications during the entire 
siege. Their object seemed to be to surround the fort 
and cut off the supply of water, and having succeeded 
in this, they awaited until Colonel Mulligan was com- 
pelled to yield to a foe more terrible than the twenty- 
seven tliousand rebels who surrounded him. In addition 
to the hempen breastworks, the rebels fired upon the 
Federal garrisons from the tree-tops, hill-sides, and roofs 
of houses. Many daring attempts were made to drive 
back the assailants, but the Union troops were repulsed 
in every instance, until, finally, unable to hold out any 
longer, after fifty-nine hours of continuous fighting, 
about four o'clock on the afternoon of the 20th they 
raised a white flag on that part of the fortifications near- 
est to Colonel Green's position, and shortly afterwards 
another was displayed opposite to Colonel Rives' posi- 
tion. General Price immediately sent forward his staff 
officers to open negotiations with Colonel Mulligan, and 
it was agreed that the Federal forces should lay down 
their arms and surrender as prisoners of war, and the 
surrender was made. About three thousand Federal 
troops, officers and men, surrendered to twenty-six 
thousand Confederates. A more gallant officer, more 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 381 

united and intrepid men, never marched under the 
National flag. They fought like veterans • and only on 
the verge of perishing, and when they had been drmk- 
inc vinegar for water in their extremity, did they suc- 
cumb to hard fate, and yield to superior numbers. 

When the surrender was made and the forces under 
Colonel Mulligan stacked their arms, the rebels mounted 
the breastworks and seemed mad with joy and dehght, 
whereupon General Price ordered that they (the Union- 
ists^ were not to be insulted by word or act, assigning 
as a reason therefor, that they had fought like brave 
men, and were entitled to be treated as such. 

The morning after the surrender, the men were ail 
released on parole, and ferried across the river. The 
officers were retained. 

The Union loss was a hundred and thirty-seven killed, 
and one hundred and forty wounded ; rebel loss, one hun- 
dred and ninety-seven killed, and seventy-two wounded. 
The visible fruits of the victory, to the Confederates, 
were great. About three thousand prisoners, five pieces 
of artillery, and two mortars ; over three thousand stand 
of infantry arms ; about seven hundred and fifty horses ; 
many sets of cavalry equipments, wagons, tents some 
ammunition, and about one hundred thousand dollars 
worth of commissary stores, besides a large amount of 
gold belonging to the banks which had been placed m 
Colonel Mulligan's hands for safe-keeping, and which he 
had buried in the camp, but the rebels discovered the 
spot and unearthed it. It is said that when Colonel 
Mulligan surrendered his sword, General Price asked 
him for the scabbard. Mulligan replied that he had 
' thrown it away. General Price, upon receiving his 
sword, returned it to him, saying he disliked to see a 
man of his valor without a sword. 

A participator in the battle tells an anecdote of an old 
man, a rebel, about sixty years of age, who came up 



382 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

daily from his farm, with his walnut-stock rifle and a 
basket of provisions, and went to work just as if he were 
engaged in hauling rails, or some other necessary labor 
of his farm. He took his position behind a large stump 
upon the descent of the hill on which the fortification 
was constructed, where he fired with deadly aim during 
each day of the siege. 

After the victory of Lexington, General Price received 
intelligence that the Confederate forces, under Gen- 
erals Pillow and Hardee, had been withdrawn from 
the southeastern portion of the State, and General Mc- 
Culloch had retired to Arkansas, leaving General Price 
alone in Missouri, and being almost without ammunition, 
he began to calculate the chances for making a retro- 
grade movement. 

Before leaving Springfield, General Price had made 
arrangements for an ample supply of ammunition, then 
at Jacksonsport, Arkansas, to be sent to him in Missouri, 
General McCulloch promising to send a safe escort for 
it. Subsequently, General McCulloch declined to furnish 
the escort and stopped the train, assigning as a reason 
therefor, that, under the circumstances then existing, it 
would be unsafe to send it, and that General Price 
would be compelled to fall back from the Missouri River, 
before the overwhelming forces moving against him under 
command of General Fremont. 

General Price had raised his force from hundreds to 
tens of thousands ; his army had been swelled to twenty- 
five thousand during his stay at Lexington, not enumer- 
ating ten thousand volunteers who had collected on the 
north bank of the Missouri, about the period when he 
commenced to retreat, and now having no means of 
transportation, except for a limited number, he was 
compelled to disband a considerable portion of his forces, 
but advised all who could not accompany him to take 
care of such arms as they had, to cherish a determined 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



383 



spirit, and to hold themselves in readiness for another 
opportunity to join his standard. General Price com- 
menced his retreat about the 27th of September. He 
sent his cavalry forward, and directed them to make 
a demonstration in the neighborhood of Georgetown, 
fifty miles from Lexington. He supplied them with 
provisions for several days, and directed them to make 
demonstrations on each of the divisions of the Federals, 
so as to hold them in check until he could effect the 
safe retreat of his infantry and artillery. By this means, 
he succeeded in deceiving the Unionists as to his real 
purpose ; inducing Fremont, Lane, and Sturgis to believe 
that he was about to attack each of them. In the mean 
time Price, with his infantry and artillery, was making 
the best possible time he could toward the south. Gen- 
eral Price continued his retreat to Neosha in the extreme 
southwest of Missouri, at which place the legislature had 
assembled, under a proclamation from Governor Jackson, 
and where he again formed a junction with General 
McCulloch, at the head of five thousand men. The 
legislature had just passed the Ordinance of Secession, 
and elected delegates to the Provisional Congress of the 
Southern Confederacy ; and here General Price fired 
one hundred guns in honor of the formal secession of 
Missouri from the United States. 

September 21. John C. Breckinridge fled from 
Frankfort, Kentucky, and openly joined the rebels. 

September 25. General Prentiss took command at 
St. Joseph. 

September 27. General Fremont takes the field against 
the rebels. 

General Lane's command surprised a superior force of 
rebels at Papinsville, Mo., and after a severe fight, routed 
them, losing seventeen killed and a large number 
wounded. The rebels lost forty killed, one hundred 
prisoners, and all their tents, wagons, and supplies. 



384 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

General Lane then made a forced march on Osceola, 
in St. Clair county, and burnt the town by shelling it, 
and repulsed a large force of rebels. 

Also, skirmishes took place within a week of this date 
at Black River, Greenville, Tuscumbia, Hunter, and 
Shanghae, in Missouri ; and at Romney, Catoctin Moun- 
tain, Lewinsville, Chapmansville, Munson's Hill, and 
Great Falls in Virginia. Also the " sacred neutrality " 
of Old Kentucky was disregarded by ^ lively skirmish at 
Barboursville, in which three hundred rebel cavalry fired 
upon the Home Guards, drove them entirely out of the 
town and took possession. 

Skirmishes occurred at Columbus, EUicott's Mills, 
Smithland, Cynthiana, Lucas Bend, and Hopkinsville, 
Kentucky. All of these skirmishes in themselves were 
trifling, though some few involved the occupation or loss 
of a somewhat important point, yet they were not of s\if- 
ficient consequence to demand more than a passing 
notice. The loss in killed and wounded was very 
small. 

The Fourth New Hampshire Volunteers, Colonel 
Wliipple, left Manchester for "Washington. The evening 
before their departure from Manchester, they were pre- 
sented with a stand of colors by the governor of New 
Hampshire, in presence of a large concourse of spectators. 
They also received another valuable present at the same 
time, in the person of Miss Nettie Grace Willis, a beau- 
tiful girl of fifteen, who was presented to Colonel Whipple 
for adoption as the daughter of the regiment. Miss 
Willis is the daughter of Rev. Mr. Willis, Unitarian 
clergyman of Nashua, N. H., who accompanied the 
regiment as chaplain. 

September 28. Munson's Hill occupied by Union 
troops. 

Early on the morning of the twenty-fifth, nearly five 
thousand men left their camps in the vicinity of Chain 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



385 



Bridge, and proceeded on the road toward Lewinsville. 
The ostensible purpose of the movement was to obtain 
forage. The real design was to give the rebels an 
opportunity for a fight, which they had stated they had 
been courting without success. A hundred wagons 
accompanied the expedition. The column marched to 
within a milo and a half of Lewinsville, and halted about 
half-past 10 o'clock, on the place of a physician. Supports 
of infantry and artillery had been left along on the road 
in the rear. Immediately on halting, two pieces of 
artillery were placed on the right and four on the left, 
both on open eminences about six hundred yards distant 
from one another. Pickets were thrown out upon all 
sides, and at once the wagons moved off in different 
directions, and commenced to load with hay belonging 
to farmers known to be secessionists. Wliilst this was 
proceeding, a body of rebel cavalry appeared a short 
distance east of Lewinsville, and Captain Mott opened 
fire upon them. In a few moments they had entirely 
disappeared, and there were no signs of a reappearance 
for several hours. 

About three o'clock, ninety loads of hay had been 
secured, and General Smith had determined to return, 
when a regiment or two of cavalry, two or three regi- 
ments of infantry, and a battery of six guns approached 
from the direction of Lewinsville, and formed in line of 
battle about two thousand yards distant. A few moments 
after, a regiment of infantry appeared upon the left flank, 
and the indications were that there would be a brisk 
battle. The Federal troops at once fell into line to the 
number of three thousand men, the remainder of the 
force being on picket or left as supports along the route. 
Orders were forwarded to the supports to move up 
to the main column, and information was telegraphed 
to McCall's and Fitz John Porter's divisions to hold 
themselves in readiness to move. 

33 



386 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The rebel battery soon opened fire "with shot and shell. 
Their first shot came half way to our lines ; the second 
fell short a hundred yards ; and the third, a shell, burst 
over the California regiment, and seriously wounded a 
private in the arm. 

In the mean time. Captain Grifiin commenced to 
reply with his battery, and his first shell burst in the 
midst of the rebel battery, causing a brief interruption 
in the enemy's attack. They renewed, however, but 
were finally compelled to retire, infantry, cavalry, and 
artillery, under the fire of our artillery. Grifiin's Battery 
fired in all twenty-six rounds. The infantry on the left 
also vanished in the wood, and at five o'clock not a rebel 
was in sight. They were present in force, fully as strong 
as our own, but they did not fire a musket, nor did their 
cavalry make any demonstration. 

Smitli then ordered the force to fall back to their 
camps, which tliey did, with their forage. 

During the week previous to the twenty-eighth, it was 
so frequently reported from day to day, that the Federal 
troops had taken possession of Munson's Hill, that when, 
at last, this long-predicted event took place, it found few 
believers among those least excited by sensation reports. 

The works at Munson's Hill were, in a military point 
of view, almost worthless, being not much more than 
rifle-pits of very common construction, and with the 
exception that the positions at Munson's and Murray's 
Hills afforded the rebels an unobstructed view of all our 
fortifications and other defences, they were of very little 
consequence. 

But here, in this camp of spies, a considerable force 
of rebels were intrenched in plain sight of the "White 
House ; their flag waving in defiance in full view of the 
National Capitol, and here they remained as long as it 
served their purpose, and when they had become suffi- 
ciently acquainted with the resources and extent of the 



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 887 



army and fortifications in and around Washington, they 
evacuated the place. On the morning of the 28th, 
about ten o'clock, our pickets reported to General 
Richardson that the rebel pickets had been drawn in, 
and subsequent observation confirmed the report. In- 
formation of this fact was telegraphed to General Mc- 
Clellan, who at once crossed the ferry at Georgetown 
with his staff, and rode to Bailey's Cross Roads. They 
then followed the course of the railroad to Upton House 
and Hill. They saw only half a dozen horsemen on 
Munson's Hill. General Wadsworth moved to the right 
and front with a body of skirmishers, and Captain Col- 
burn, of General McClellan's staff, skirmished to the 
left, without encountering any of the enemy. General 
Richardson then moved forward with a body of troops 
toward the hill, the rebel horsemen retiring as they 
approached. They entered the work without difficulty, 
and found that the rebels had taken every thing of value 
with them. 

The appearance of the ground deserted by them indi- 
cated that they were deficient in those arrangements 
which serve to make a camp life comfortable, having no 
tents, but merely shelters rudely constructed. There 
were no signs to show that they had ever mounted any 

guns. 

Detachments from Generals Richardson's, Keyes', and 
Wadsworth's Brigades, and also from General Franklin's 
Division occupied Munson's Hill, being in command of 
Colonel Ferry, of the Fifth Michigan regiment, and the 
American flag floated there in place of that of the Con- 
federates. 

On the following morning the pickets from General 
Smith's Division advanced and took position at Fall's 
Church, meeting with no opposition whatever, as the 
Confederates had retreated from the whole line of their 
positions on the line of Washington. 



388 THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The advance of General Smith on Fall's Church from 
the Chain Bridge was accompanied by events of the most 
deplorable character. On their way to Fall's Church, 
and when about half a mile from it, by some unaccount- 
able blunder, Colonel Owens' (Irish) Philadelphia 
regiment, in the darkness of the night, mistaking for 
rebels Captain Mott's Battery, which was in the advance, 
sustained by General Baker's California regiment, 
Baxter's Philadelphia Zouaves, and Colonel Friedman's 
cavalry, fired a full volley into the troops last mentioned, 
killing and wounding a large number. The California 
regiment, not knowing whence the firing came, returned 
it with marked effect. The horses attached to Mott's 
Battery became unmanageable, and the tongues of the 
caissons were broken, owing to the narrowness of the 
road. 

Lieutenant Bryant, having command of the first 
section, ordered the guns to be loaded with grape and 
canister, and soon had them in range to rake the sup- 
posed enemy, when word was sent to him that he was in 
the company of friends. 

All was excitement, and a long time elapsed before 
the actual condition of affairs was ascertained and con- 
fidence reestablished. 

General Smith immediately ordered Colonel Owens' 
regiment to fall back to camp. 

By this unfortunate circumstance, fifteen were killed, 
and thirty wounded. The dead were all buried near 
their encampment, with military honors, while the 
wounded were removed to the hospitals in Georgetown 
principally, where thev received the best of attention. 






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